Lullaby of the Dead
by monshari
Summary: St. Vladamir's Academy is being haunted by ghost that died during the civil war and Rose is the only one being effected. Can she put these ghost back into the ground before they bury her first? After Shadow Kiss.
1. Uncivil Wars

Lullaby of the Dead / A Vampire Academy Fanfic

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead!

Summary: Post SK. Dimitri's not Strigoi. Weird things are happening at St. Vlad's. Doors are locking, glass is breaking. People are seeing their doppelgangers and blood is pouring from the sky like the clouds are bleeding. When Rose see's her ghost, she knows things aren't the way they used to be. St. Vlad's is being haunted.

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><p><strong>Uncivil Wars<strong>

I ran into class 14 minutes after the bell rang. About a week ago they started cleaning up the campus from the attacks and today they were starting classes back up; and as usual, I was late to History.

"-And the causes of the willow and mar- Well, Miss Hathaway, so nice of you to join us," Mr. Nagy, our replacement history teacher, jeered as I walked through the door.

"I, uh..."

"Just take your seat Miss Hathaway. You can copy the notes from Mr. Ozera, I presume?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Nagy." Mr. Nagy was one of the few teachers that I liked. He actually treated me with a fair amount of respect. I took my seat next to Christian and leaned over his shoulder to get the few pointers that I missed. Apparently, we were studying the Civil War.

"Southern states were concerned about states rights and loosing sovereignty morose than just slavery. With the election of Abraham Lincoln it was the last straw for the south. You could look as far back as the 1830s as to the beginning of the issues of the civil war, but the election of Abraham Lincoln was the spark that ignited the fire. Miss Rinaldi? I believe you had a theory?"

"This is not the commonly taught answer, but my belief is that the Civil War began October 16, 1859 with John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry. That raid marked the first use of troops against American citizens during this period. It also really struck fear into the South about possible slave revolts. Many of the State Militia's which had previously been, in essence, social organizations began to really drill and work on marksmanship and other military skills. Also, after the Raid, slave uprisings and runaways increased dramatically in the south. So, given the use of force and the increased militarization in the South, I think you can make a great case that the Civil War as a military conflict began in October of 1859." Mia gave her big long speech on it and I tuned out until I heard my name.

"And Miss Hathaway, do you have anything you would like to add?" He asked.

"Um, not really. I mean, why do you we even learn about this stuff when we didn't experience any of it? It doesn't effect Moroi culture." I said.

"And you are right."

"I am?" I asked incredibly.

"Yes. Why do we learn about History? Because it makes us smarter? No. You see, the reason the Civil war is such an important topic to the vampire world is because when the war began in 1861, we had a little Civil war ourselves. The Strigoi attacked this very school the same year, just like the one just 2 weeks ago. The only difference is that so many more lives were lost. Almost 260 causalities in total. Most were Moroi, but a good number of Guardians and Novices went out too. They died on the ground you are sitting on right now. It took almost 4 years to recover from the attack and rebuild."

"Oh my god," Lissa, who was sitting a few desk away, said out loud. "That's horrible!"

"But we must remember that the past is the past. Now onto the lesson-" He continued.

Even I was a bit shocked. I turned in my seat a bit to see the Guardians lined up against the wall. I smiled at Dimitri. He through a glance in my direction but other then that ignored me. He was way to serious.

* * *

><p><em>The rose bore rigid, steely petals. He stroked his finger down one, and it blackened under his touch. As its color was leeched, the petal crumbled away like ash. In the dream, he wore a crown of rusted blades and nothing else, but he was alone. His hair was blonde again, plaited down his back in intricate ropes of gold. There was a slight breeze, and it plucked at the long bangs framing his narrow face. His land sprawled for leagues, a mad tangle of iron thorn and silver rose. As he began to walk, the bushes scratched the prince's porcelain flesh. Thin, dark lines welled black blood, but he felt no pain.<em>

_It was that moment you knew fairy tales were real. The dream where nothing was impossible. The life where everything was dead._

_He couldn't feel the pain._

* * *

><p>I woke with a start the next morning. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I groaned. The weird dreams were coming back. I hadn't told Dimitri or Lissa or anybody. I mean, they were just dreams right? But in every one of them there was a prince. He was young and had raven black hair and eyes so dark I could swear he only had pupils. The theme would be different though.<p>

I rolled over and checked my clock. 5:16. I had about 15 minutes before I would have gotten up anyways. With my fingers digging into the thick sheets, I sighed softy. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood. My toes sunk into the thick carpet, all but hidden from view. I walked groggily into the bathroom. I stripped and climbed into the shower. Clouds of steam billowed from behind the crystal screen, fogging the mirror. I stood under the water, as it came out from the shower head at boiling point. It felt oddly good as the water washed away the sweat, leaving red burns on my skin.

When it was almost 5:30 I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body, walking into my room for clothes. I changed into grey sweatpants and sweatshirt, which absorbed any access water in my hair. I opened the curtains revealing what looked like a very drowsy day. The sky was a dark grey and rain poured from the sky. Unlike a lot of people, I loved this weather. I loved the smell and the feel of the water on skin. I loved the color the clouds made everything.

It was just 6 when I left for training. The bad news was that I would have to go through the courtyard to get to the gym and I wasn't in the mood to get wet. At the last second I made a run for it. I was almost back under the awning when I hit a wall. A clear, glass, wall. My body flew off of it and hit the ground hard, face down. I felt the blood running from my nose to my mouth. A copper tang filled my mouth. My hair was sprawling all over the ground and my face, sticking to my cheeks. I sat up in pain. I stood slowly wiping the sleeve of my sweatshirt. It brought back blood. I pushed toward the empty air. My fingers hit the wall again.

My fingered pressed against it, pushing hard, but it wouldn't break. To say I was confused would be like saying Lissa wasn't as blond as it got - so basically a major understatement.

Then, my fingers turned red.

My head shot to the sky, where rain wasn't pouring anymore.

Blood was.

I gasped and scrambled backwards where I was met with another wall. They were closing in on me. The blood rain poured on me, soaking my hair and clothes with red. I screamed and pounded on the walls petrified. Before I knew it, I was clawing at the ground, the air around me just evaporating.

I knew I was about to black out with all the red clouding my vision, but then I heard his voice.

"Rose!" And the walls broke, shattered, burst. The air was coming back in short shallow uneven breaths. My skin was completely dry of any trace of blood. Rain fell from the sky like it should on days like this.

"Rose, what's going on? What happened?" But before I attempt to answer, Dimitri pulled me into his arms, lifting me up and carrying me into the Guardian's lounge - the equivalent to a teacher's lounge. He set me in one of the plush chairs_, _leaving only to return with a bright red towel and a cup of his famous hot chocolate.

"Tell me what happened." He stated, bringing over a chair of his own. Luckily for us, nobody in their right mind was up at this hour and we had the place to our self.

"I don't know." I said. "I was fine this morning, and then when I tried to get out of the rain...I couldn't. It's like there were real walls that were holding me in. All the air was gone." I said softly, not meeting his eye. I decided it would be best to leave out the blood-rain thing. Then he would really think I was crazy. I heard him sigh. His hand reached to my chin so I would look up at him.

"Rose, I-I don't think your lying. I trust you with everything in me, but for right now, lets keep this between us, okay? Tell the Princess, but keep it small. With everything being processed with the Shadow Kissed stuff, well, it's already enough for the royals." He said with a small smile. "I'll walk you back to your dorm and get you out of your classes for today,"

He kissed me forehead and sat me back up on my feet. This little attraction was rare for him. When he said we were going to stay after from each other until graduation, he wasn't lying. All of our trainings were kept strictly professional and he ignored me all the others times we were together.

I smiled up at him and when I told him I loved him, he said it back.

* * *

><p>That night was the worst. When I woke from the dream about the Prince and the Rose, I turned on my lamp, only to be faced with me. A pale, grey, dead me. I shrieked and scrambled up into the pillows, hitting the backboard. An exact copy of me was draped over my body, staring me in the eyes with death. I couldn't stop screaming, but I did when her hand trailed down my cheek and covered my mouth.<p>

_Shhhh._

She placed a finger over her lips and disappeared. The magic trick was almost enough to make me forget the bloody knife sticking out from her side. Almost.

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><p><strong>Review! Should I continue?<strong>

**-Elisabeth  
><strong>


	2. Ring Of Hearts

_A few reviewers pointed out a few mistakes I made in the last chapter. Erg! I'll try to edit that soon and fix the names a such! Thanks!_**  
><strong>

**Ring Of Hearts**

I sat in bed, shaking and crying. Was this all part of Spirit? Was this the finale of my sanity? I didn't know, but I definitely didn't want it to happen again. I was a little surprised that the door matrion hadn't heart me scream. It'd been about 15 minutes already and nobody was knocking at my door - or filling a noise complaint.

It was only 4am and tomorrow was saturday, so no training, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. I stood from the bed and walked to the bathrooms. I stared at my reflection for a while in the mirror. I looked oddly fine for someone who had just seen...her ghost, but my eyes were still bloodshot and blurry. I wet down a washcloth and scrubbed my face until it was red and burning.

I ran my fingers through my hair to get rid of any tangles but found none. I couldn't stop thinking about the knife. Was she a future dead me? Was I going to die by getting stabbed in the side? And what about the blood-rain, or the invisible walls? And logical answer I thought of just turned into two more questions. _But if this happened then-, but this couldn't have happened unless-._

Then, I heard the crack. The mirror exploded, sending glass particle in every direction. I shrieked and fell to my knees, burying my face in my legs. I glanced up after a few moments, remember the exact moment before the mirror broke. My contorted face all scrunched up in confusion. That mirror just freaking broke by itself. I was the only one in the bathrooms and I'm positive I didn't break it.

But then, when I stood up, there were no broken pieces on the floor. The mirror was completely intact and reflecting my shocked face. How the hell...?

I gulped slowly as I got that feeling that I wasn't alone. I turned around slowly and checked under all the stalls. I was the only one in here. I turned back to the mirror, where I wasn't the only one in it. I saw dead me in it. This time, I let out a full fledged scream and whipped around. I was alone again. Dead me wasn't in the mirror, that should have been broken, anymore.

Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over me like some hungry beast, immobilizing me; my brain, holding me captive. I could feel the flight or fight responses kick in, increasing my heart rate, flooding me with added adrenaline, but the fear; the beast holding me captive took control of my entire being.

But still nobody heard me.

* * *

><p>I sat at our usual table in the cafeteria with a single overripe pear in my hands. I was sure I looked like hell, but I was too tired to care.<p>

"Rose, what are you we- Oh my god! Are you Ok?" Lissa shouted with concern as I sat down getting the attention of those us.

"Yea, just tired," I replied.

"You've got to be joking! Too tired to eat a doughnut or two? Come on Rosie, stop lying." I heard Christian's snark from across the table next to Lissa. I shot him a glare and he just smiled.

"Shut your mouth or I'll do it for you, fire crotch. I'm already envisioning the duct tape over your mouth." Eddie chuckled as he took a seat next to me.

"Happy V-day, Rose." I heard him say happily as he grabbed my pair and bit into it. I groaned loudly and put my face in my hands. Today was February 14th. Valentine's day. I hated valentine's day. It was just an excuse for couples to be extra gross with each other and receive free chocolate. And of course, now that Eddie mentioned it, Lis and Christian were all giggly and cute, playing with each others fingers.

"Oh come on, Rose! It's not that bad! What are you going to wear to the Ring of Hearts dance tonight?" She asked me.

According to Lissa, The Ring Of Hearts Valentine's Day dance was the most important thing all year. More important then Prom and Homecoming and all that. It was the only school event that wasn't supervised by Guardians. We were aloud to stay up as long as we wanted as long as orgies didn't start popping up.

"I'm not going Lissa. I've decided to go to bed early tonight." I lied.

"Come on! You didn't go last year!"

"We weren't here last year!" I argued. She pierced her lips together and stood.

"Let's go. I'm raiding your closet right now and we're going to find you something to wear." I gasped as she grabbed my arm and pulled up.

Back in my room, clothes were scattered everywhere. Random jeans, shirts, jackets, sun dressed, the whole thing. Lissa even raided my underwear. She through a few dressed at me and shooed me into the bathroom to change. The first one was Ok, a deep red satin that to my feet. "Too formal," Lissa had critiqued. The second and third aren't worth mentioning, but the fourth one defiantly stood out.

It was black and covered with square sequins. The dress barely covered my ass and boobs, and unlike the lust charm dress, this would defiantly get me in trouble with the law. **(Pic on Profile)** I also got black knee boots that pretty much covered my whole leg. I smiled when I realized Dimitri would have a fit if he saw me in this. My hair fell in soft waves down my back after I let it down.

Lissa's dressed was amazing, and definitely showed off her small curves. It was a bright hot pink with one shoulder that had drapes of pink thread streaming from it. She wore pink slingback pumps with with open toes **(Pic on Profile)**.

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><p>When we entered the commons, I was dazzled. The walls were lined with twinkling lights and there were couches and chairs and tables set up everywhere. There were streamers on the walls and tables that ranged from black to cream to white. It was beautiful, in a cheesy kind of way.<p>

And I very well knew that I had every eye in the room. The guys wanted to get me, and the girls wanted to be me. I guess it was a bit shallow, but I made the best of the attention god gave me.

I saw Eddie's mouth opened as I approached the drinks. Christian eye's glanced between me and Lissa, unable to decide on either of us.

"Lissa, I think your boyfriend's got the hots for me," I told her as we sat down next to them. Christian flushed a light pink. "He's just jealous that he'll never get my boobs," I said sarcastically. Lissa _hmmed_.

"Well, then I guess we're breaking up. I mean, if my boobs aren't good enough for you," Lissa fake cried, trying not to laugh.

"I-I-of course not. Lissa, come on. You know Rose," She cried harder. "No, Lis, babe, please don't cry! Your boobs are fine, I promise!" He stuttered worriedly. He shot me a look that said 'What-The-Fuck-Is-Wrong-With-You-You-Just-Made-Her-Cry'.

Then we couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"What? Oh my god, what the hell Rose?" He groaned.

"I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public," I said through the laughs. I just couldn't believe that he believed her. Lissa wasn't that good of an actress.

He just glared at me and wrapped an arm around Lissa, pulling her into his lap. "Sorry," She apologized, kissing him. But of course, the kiss didn't just stop there.

"And that's my cue to leave," I uttered under my breath. As I stood, Eddie grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Rose. Let's dance." Of course he meant it in a friendly way, as we had both come without dates. I smiled and pulled him out onto the dance floor where Ke$ha's Your Love Is My Drug was playing. We danced like old times. Just crazy stupid dancing. It reminded me of Mason kind of, how he would always be the life of the party. We laughed and swung our arms around without caring how big of a fool we looked like.

Eddie was going back to the drinks table when I felt arms grab my wrists. "You know, Little dhampir. You made a very big entrance in _that_ dress. I'm glad you picked it out." Adrian said as his breathe tickled the side of my neck. I turned away from Eddie to see Adrian standing behind me.

"Hi Adrian," I said ignoring his earlier comment. I walked back to the drinks table with him on my tail.

"Hey Adrian!" Lissa greeted him.

"Cousin, Ozera, Castile. How are you on this very fine night of romance?" He flirted. I grabbed myself a drink, which I almost spit out when I tasted it.

"Is this spiked?" I asked when I finally got the burning out of my throat.

Adrian nodded. "Good ol' Tequila."

I sighed. "Did _you_ spike it Adrian?" He smirked.

"Come on, you people are boring. You all need a little pick me up."

I breathed out deeply before answering. "Your right." And I gulped down the rest of the drink with 4 more behind it. "To Alcohol," I cheered. "Helping ugly people have sex since 1807!"

* * *

><p>I stumbled out the gym doors trying not to fall over. My stomach was churning in waves, but I held everything in. My tolerance is, like, high.<p>

Ha, high. I giggled. Oh yea, I was totally drunk. I wondered the halls of random dorms. I didn't know where I was and I didn't care. A window behind me broke, and I'm not sure how, but I kept walking without taking interest in the mysterious window. Another window broke on the opposite side. And another, and every single one down the hall. I laughed.

"That wasn't a nice window anyway!" I shouted to the opened air. By now I think I'm in the Guardian's dorms.

I stumble around and stand in front of a door. It's Dimitri's door...maybe.

"Oops! Sorry Stanny! I must go find Dimka!" I shouted at the tired looking Guardian Alto standing in the doorway. Then I check the next door. Alberta. And the next, Celeste. And the next, Tanner. But then, on the next door, Dimitri opens it! I ran into his arms giggling.

"Comrade!" I shout in his ear.

"Eh, Rose! Be quiet!" He pulled me into his room and shut the door with me still clinging to him. No doubt can he feel my boobs on his bare chest. Oh, bare chest. He was wearing just black sweatpants and his hair was down and wavy.

"I'm so drunk!" I chattered.

"Rose, Roza, look at me," He said, trying to get me to look up at his face. "I'm going to take you back to your dorm, but you need to be quiet. I think It's pointless trying to tell you that you were wrong drinking in this state,"

"No! I wanna stay here!" His face looked stuck in between letting me stay or sending me back.

"Alright." He agreed after a few moments. "But your sleeping on the bed."

"Yes!" I yelled excitedly. "Let's go to bed!"

"No Rose. I'm sleeping on the couch. Your way to drunk for me to even consider giving you what you want." He picked me up and sat me on the bed.

"Please, Dimitri? Come sleep with me?" I begged as he turned to leave.

"Rose, like I told you, I'm sleeping on the couch,"

"Where's the couch?"

"My office?" He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You have an office?" I asked. I jumped off the bed and ran through the halls. Guardian's were so lucky. They had housed practically for dorm rooms. When I found it, it was just a small brown room with a computer and plush chair. "This isn't an office. It's hell with florescent lights." I said disappointed. I was expecting a huge room full of printers and intercoms and dirty women who sleep with their bosses.

I heard my silly Russian chuckle behind me. "Come on, Rose," But I leaped ahead of him and jumped on the bed again.

"Come on! Let's reenact our little scene in the cabin." I purred.

"Rose..."

"You know, Dimitririri, virginity is like a bubble. One little prod and... POP... it is gone!" I grinned. Dimitri shook his head in disbelief.

"You are such a _strange _drunk." He whispered in awe. I lifted a finger and pointed at him.

"Hey, Cowboy, tomorrow I will be sober and you will still be ugly!" I shouted at him. He stared at me, bewildered, as I broke into crazy cackles of laughter. "Why won't you get in bed with me?" I pursed seductively.

"Because it wouldn't be appropriate,"

"You _fucked_ me, Dimitri. That wasn't appropriate either." He sighed.

"If I get in the bed will you go to sleep?" I nodded fast. He climbed in next to me but stayed a fair distance away from.

"You know, this dress isn't very comfortable." I quipped.

He grunted next to me, turning off the lamp so the room was completely dark. "Deal with it."

* * *

><p><em>The prince waited for her by the horse drawn carriage wearing a white and black steam punk coat<em>. _She arrived in a green fitted dress that fell in waves to her feet, her soft brown hair covering one eye. He kissed her hand gently and led her up the steps into the carriage. He next to her and wait the few minutes before they arrived that their destination. A small meadow surround by trees. A tiny pond with frogs and fish awaited them with a picnic. "My Princess," He whispered. "Be my wife?" And the girls smile faded. She stepped back appalled._

_ "How can you ask me that?" She whispered. Then, he brought out a knife.  
><em>

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**I've never written a drunk scene before and I didn't really know how to write it, but I tried my best! Sorry if it's not what being drunk is like...  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	3. The Ghost Of Me

**The Ghost Of Me**

I woke the next morning with a killer hangover, but opening my eyes to Dimitri made things a whole lot better. I was still in my dress, except now it was wrinkled and the tiny straps were completely off my shoulders. I clutched my temples and rolled onto my back groaning. I felt Dimitri stir next to me, waking up.

"Here," He said with a tired voice, shutting off his alarm clock. Today was Monday, therefore we had training and I had school. I just now realized that Dimitri might have a problem with getting out of bed this early too. He handed me an aspirin and a glass of water. I gladly took it and sat up.

"Thanks,"

"Rose, why were you drunk last night? You should know better, especially when no Guardians are there. Anything could happen. If Strigoi were to attack, which we know now is completely possible, then you need to be focused and hands on." He lectured me with one of his great zen lessons.

"Someone spiked the punch, Comrade. It's not like I had much of a choice." I waved it off quickly. He sighed and closed his eyes, half wanting to strangle me and the other half trying not to look at my cleavage, which at the moment was greatly exposed.**  
><strong>

"Go get ready for training." He released me a few minutes later without a single loving gesture. I threw back the covers and deliberately slammed the door on the way out.

Back in my dorm, I quickly changed into sweats and a tank top. Then, I thought about the dream. It was pretty foggy, and I could only remember bits and pieces, but I was able to make something out of it. The prince was there, like always, but the girl was different. She had dark brown hair and eyes and almond colored skin. Her body was slim and short. Now that I think about it, she looked kind of like me.

Not to mention the knife.

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><p><em>He was gripping the knife hard. "Come, my darling. Don't be like that." The girl darted back cautiously, eying the knife. The weapon that could end her life. He took a step forward with her every step back. Her breath hitched.<em>

_"What are doing with that?" She asked, her voice shaky._

_And for the first time, I realized that the princes' eyes were red._

**~LofD~**_  
><em>

_With a sinking feeling, I felt my dream shift and found myself standing in a garden at the court wearing a clingy, short red dress with a low neck and black lace. A silver necklace with a rose pendant hung from my neck. I growled under my breath. Adrian! He stepped out from the cover of the trees with his hands held out apologetically._

_"Little Dhampir," he began, "What a nice surprise it is to see you here."_

_"What a surprise it is to see me in my own dream?" I asked him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Why won't he just leave me to sleep and dream in peace? He chuckled; making me irritated seemed to make him happy. He walked up to me and held my hand which I immediately snatched away from him._

_"Aw, don't be like that." he said, I groaned, which only seemed to widen his flirtatious smirk._

_"Stupid dream-stalker." I grumbled under my breath. I was perfectly happy with my previous dream...well, not really. Adrian chucked, almost as if he had heard what I was thinking._

_"Am I making you angry? I'm sorry, that was never my intention little Dhampir, I wouldn't want to end up on your hit list." He said, his eyes sparkling playfully. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his chest, our bodies were almost touching and I heard the intake of air as his breathing hitched._

_"Well Adrian," I purred, running my hand down his chest, "sorry, but your already on the list." I finished, my voice abruptly becoming teasingly hard. Then, I patted his chest once and took a step back. _

_"Now, Adrian. I have a question for you." His eyes were hard as he took a step back from me, swallowing._

_"Yes?"_

_"Your a spirit user and you can dream walk. Could you also manipulate dreams? Like change them to make them what you want?"_

_"That's an odd question..."_

_"I know, but just answer it!" I insisted._

_"I'm not all that experienced with dream walking, but there's still a lot about Spirit that we don't know. I suppose that could be another variation of the magic. Why do you want to know?" He explained._

_I nodded slowly, mentally agreeing with him. "No reason, just...well, thank you."_

_"Rose, your waking-"  
><em>

* * *

><p>My eyes shot open. I was laying on my bed in my training clothes and shoes. Oh god, I fell asleep. I can't believe I fell asleep just minutes after I woke up. Even when I'm up early I'm late. I rushed out the door, unable to have the time to think about the dreams.<p>

I ran into the gym and quickly threw my bag into the corner, ready for training. "Hey comrade," I said in an innocent voice, "What will we be doing today?"

"Laps." was his only reply. I groaned and started stretching and warming up. He sprawled against the wall with a western novel. I grumbled under my breath the whole time I stretched, letting him know how much I hated laps. "Grumbling about it or arguing with me is not going to get you out of it." Dimitri said without looking up from his book.

"You're next on my hit list Comrade." I said irritably.

"Should I be scared?" he asked, his lips curved into an alluring half smile and he looked up from his book and met my eyes. I slammed the door behind me as I started running my laps, channeling my desire for him into pushing myself harder.

As I re-entered the gym, Dimitri looked up from his book, surprised. He double checked the stopwatch next to him and his face lit up with a grin. "What?" I asked, breathless and doubled over, gasping for breath.

"You beat your old record by miles! If you ran like this every day, you would never be late for anything. Well done Rose." He gave me a rare smile full of warmth and my stomach flipped over. "Come on, we still have time to spar." He started to lift himself up from the ground.

"Since I broke a record today, shouldn't I get the rest of the day off?" I asked him deviously, running a hand down the front if his chest, playing on the fierce passion that was always present between the two of us. I looked into his eyes and tried hard not to laugh at the internal struggle going on inside him. I knew very well that he was thinking about the dress I wore last night. I watched as something inside him broke and desire took over. He mentally shook himself.

"Fine Roza, go. Get out of here now." He managed to bark out the command, still breathing heavily. I gladly skipped across the gym with my bag and paused at the door. I looked back and winked at him, laughing at the way he stood and shook his head with a growing smile on his face.

* * *

><p>But of course, the fun ended there. When I walked into my dorm room after dinner, chills went up my spine. The room was at least 20 degrees colder then when I left it just 30 minutes ago. Not only that, but my room was clean - like, cleaner then clean. My bed was made and my desk was no longer cluttered. All my clothes were hanging up in the proper places and the bathroom sparkled.<p>

I went to the thermostat to try to turn up the heat, but I only got an error button, and when tried to dial the number for the academy's dorm maintenance, my phone died. Another cold blast of air hit my back and I shuddered, stumbling forward.

Everything was silent. The air conditioning wasn't on, no water drops from the leak in my sink, no birds were chirping from outside my window.

In fact, a second later, my window slammed shut. My heart pounded and my hands grew with sweat.

It was as if I was being haunted.

"Can I tell you a story?"

**~LofD~**

**Adelina's POV**

"Can I tell you a story?"

Part of me didn't know why I even wanted to tell her. I suppose my life before had been some sort of secret…something I didn't want anyone knowing. But then again I wasn't sure. It's not like I'd ever had anyone to tell in the first place.

The girl's, Rosemarie's, shock was noticeable when she whipped around shaking. She looked undeniably like me, but I guess that was because she was me. In a way anyways. I had chosen her body not long ago. It was the body I wished I had back in 1867, when I was alive.

Her eyes stopped wondering over my body - her body - and got stuck on the knife. I'd never been able to remove that. It didn't hurt or anything, it was just there - a forever reminder of my past.

"Are-are-you-you-I-" She stumbled on her words. "I thought I could only see ghost outside of wards." She finally said after taking a hard breath. I nodded. I knew what it was like to be Shadow-Kissed. Anna had told me.

"But I died here, on this land you see. It was here were I died. Can I tell you a story?" I repeated.

She hesitated. "What kind of story?"

"Romance. Tragedy. Death." I replied quickly.

"That sounds kind of like my story. A little bit."

I smiled wryly. "Well, as you can see, we have a lot in common."

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	4. These Haunted Memories

**I've been sick for the past few days, so thanks for being patient! Fan fiction was going all crazy on me too. I went to save the first 1000 words of this chapter, when WAM, the save page says the server can't be found and it erased everything I had. Bare with me!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>These Haunted Memories<br>**

**Adelina's POV**

_North Carolina, December 1867_

_"Stop it! Stop it!" I cried out as me and Will tumbled to the ground. My dress crumbled under me, leaving the wiring on the skirt broken so the thin fabric flattened to my already flat figure. My auburn hair tangled into the leaves and grass, picking up the dirt as I rolled down the meadow._

_I laughed aloud when I came to a stop, Will not far behind me. The air was unusually warm for Winter, almost Christmas, at a fair 74 degrees. The sun shone and for the first time in weeks, the birds were chirping._

_Will had been my best friend since I was 14. He had tanner skin than me, and his hair was a bright blond - mine in comparison was such a dark red that it looked brown and my skin was pasty and white. My eyes were a light shade of grey, whereas his were jade. I had just turned 17 three days ago and since today was Sunday we were finally having our own celebration away from the politics and war. We'd snuck out of church early and escaped to our hide out, a small meadow with a few trees and a large pond._

_Will collapsed beside me, sighing and put his hands behind his head, looking up at the clear sky._

_"This is great," He said soundly, breathing in. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. I turned onto my side and leaned against him._

_"We should get back. You know what they do to people who aren't seen at church," I teased._

_"Oh, yes. We'll be declared witches and burned on a stake." He laughed. It was a rich and filling sound that made me feel safe. But at the same time it brought back horrible memories._

_"Hush. That isn't something to joke about. You remember what happened to Amanda." Amanda was my - or had been - my 11 year old sister. She found an old Wiccan book in one of our neighbor's houses. She started reading it not knowing the consequences. 4 days later, the neighbors were arrested and Amanda was hung. I had to watch._

_His eyes opened and became soft. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He apologized. We sat up and he looked down at me._

_"It's alright. I just miss her so much." I said sadly._

_"I know," He helped me to my feet and we gathered our basket which held the remains of our short picnic. "And here," He pushed a small box into my hand. A little orange bow sat on top._

_"You've already given me a present." I argued._

_"I know, but this is a fun thing that the adults wouldn't approve of." I unwrapped the gift and removed the wrapping. It was a tiny model of a ship in a bottle. It may not seem like much, but from Will it meant the world._

_"Oh, Will. Thank you," I hugged him tightly surprising him. I guessed he didn't think it was much either._

**~LofD~**

_When I arrived back at the estate my parents had bought, the lawn was crowded with carriages and horses and people wearing all sorts of things. I especially hated those big hats. Apparently, today was the announcement.  
><em>

_You see, when I was six, my parents had gotten together with some old friends who had just adopted a baby boy. His parents had died in a fire I think and had barely survived. The boy was six as well as me and had stark black hair and piercing gold eyes - Also, his name was James._

_Right that moment, my father had decided that he would make the perfect husband for me when we were adults. From that moment, we were betrothed._

_It's not that I didn't like James. No, he was charming and a gentlemen; But, we just didn't click. I was impulsive and outgoing, and he was uptight and always had to do the right thing. Plus, he thought he was my boyfriend whereas I saw him as just a friend. Now, we were both 17 and arranged to marry when I turn 19._

_I walked up the steps to my parents white house and was greeted at the door with my personal dresser and maid, Caroline. They both exchanged a look when they saw the dress my mother had made me, clinging to me. I shuck hands with strangers who congratulated me on the official engagement._

_When I found my parents, they were sitting next to one of the fireplaces in one of the many private libraries in our house. My mother gasped when she saw my dress._

_"I, uh, tripped," I lied nervously when my mother asked me what had happened to me. I'd left the broken wire of the dress that held up the skirt of my red dress at the meadow, hoping to just sneak into the house unnoticed so I could change. I didn't except the big crowd._

_"Adelina, where have you been? You were suppose to be here over 20 minutes ago! When we couldn't find you at the service, we were going to call the police, however, we could worry the guests." My father scolded as he stood from his chair and sat his drink on the wooden table next to him._

_"I was out with Will, sir. I didn't mean to cause any stress, I promise." He huffed at my answer. I knew my parents weren't fond of Will. They thought I would fall in love with him and be against marrying James._

_"I will punish you later. Go find James." He told me strictly._

**Rose's POV**

_Present Day_

And suddenly the air hissed, cutting Adelina off. It was like TV static was filling the air. Adelina's head jumped from place to place and a few seconds later it settled on my face.

"I need to leave." I noticed her body starting to fade out.

"No - wait! What about the story? What happens?" I asked her frantically.

"You will know the rest soon, but now, I must leave. They don't like me being here. I'm not suppose to be here."

"What do you mean? Whose they?" I step forward and try to grab her hand, but my fingers only go right through it.

"The dead. Be prepared, for they are coming!" She was gone and I was left standing there surrounded by darkness. The silence was broken a few moments later by the ringing of my phone. I didn't pick it up, because if I did, I knew nobody would be on the other line.

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><p>It was about 10 minutes later when I decided to leave my room. I couldn't sleep there, not knowing that Adelina died in there, so I moved myself to Lissa's room for a little sleep over. I snuck past the dorm matron and Guardians on shift to the Moroi dorms and used Lis' spare key to get in. She was the only one there, since obviously Natalie didn't reside there anymore, and she was dressed in pink hello kitty shorts and a plain pink tank top. She laid on her stomach on her bed with the TV playing reruns of Gossip Girl.<p>

"Rose! What are you doing here - not that I'm not glad to see you or anything..." She said, muting the TV and sitting up.

"Can I crash in here? My room is...detained." I explained. Her nose wrinkled up.

"Rose, detained means to delay," She stated plainly.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "So? I don't know what all that advanced vocabulary means!"

"Detained was a word on our sixth grade spelling list..."

I give up. This girl was impossible to please. "Fine. I'll leave."

"What? No, you came here, you sleep here. I don't want you getting caught," I sighed in relief as I plopped down on the extra bed. It felt good to have Lissa time again. We hadn't really talked a whole lot since the attack and that was almost 2 weeks ago.

I still haven't told Lissa - or anybody else - about Dimitri. I had a feeling that Alberta just _knew_. I also suspected Eddie was on to it. And of course Adrian knew. I figured this was as good as time as any to spill it to her. She was my best friend therefore she had a right to know.

"Hey Lissa?" I cut her off in the middle off her sentence about how we were going to _have_ to sneak off campus to see Breaking Dawn when it's released. Great, another gay vampire movie.

"Um, yea?" She asked, taking a bite of the smores we attempted to make.

"What do you think of Dimitri?"

She stopped licking her fingers for a moment. Her eyebrows raised. "_Why_?"

"No reason, just wondering."

"Well, he's a great guardian. Really loyal." She paused before cracking a sly smile - which was rare was her. "Really hot." I laughed a bit at this.

"But what about Christian? You're going to leave him already?" I teased.

"Well, Christian's hot in his own way." I laughed again.

"But really Rose, why?"

I hesitated here. "Well, what you say if I was...dating him? Not that I am!" I added. I saw confusion wash over her.

"Dating him? Rose, he's a person, not an axe murderer. I would take him through the same 'I'm her best friend and if you hurt her I'll squash your face in with my magical spirit powers even though it's illegal' speech." She ranted ending it on a 'Yes I'm more powerful then you' note.

"So you wouldn't, like, expose us or something? Good, because, well, you know..." I trailed off.

"OH MY GOD, ROSE! You're seeing Guardian Belikov?" She exclaimed, rather loudly might I add.

"Shh! God Lis, shut it unless you want the dorm matron in here!"

"How long has this been going on?" She demanded without acknowledging my warning.

"Well, it hasn't been official until about 2 weeks ago, but we both had feelings for each other since we were caught and dragged back here," I told her.

"That long and you haven't told me? I'm your best friend! I wouldn't have told anyone! It makes me feel like you can't trust me!" She started out soft but ended up yelling again.

"Lissa, it's not that I can't trust you! Its just that, well, I didn't know what you would think of me! Dimitri is my mentor, 7 years older then me, and we're both going to be guarding you! I had no idea if you would judge me or not! Or what if you hated me and you thought I was going to quit being a guardian and we would run off to the human world together and live human lives, which would never happen, by the way. Or, what if you accidentally spilled to someone, you know, accidentally, and then I was shipped off to be a blood-whore, and Dimitri was fired and sent back to Russia, where we could never see each other again!-" By now I was rambling on and on, and Lissa put up her hand to cut me off and cover my mouth.

"ROSE! How could you think that! Your like my sister! I could never think any of those things about you! But I see what you mean though. I would do the same thing if it were Christian." Then we grinned sheepishly at each other and burst out laughing. We are the cheesyist people I new. And then the curiosity started to boil up inside of her, and I could feel 20 questions coming on.

"Oh, no Lis, not now. I really need to go to bed. I have training in the morning." I said, and she started to pout.

"Please, just one?" She begged.

I finally agreed. "Fine, just one."

"Have you guys slept together yet?" She asked without hesitation.

"Uh, well, I guess that's how it happened, so yea,"

"Yay! Your finally a big girl with the rest of us." She cheered.

"Awesome, now go to bed,"

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><p><strong>Review~<strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	5. The Bodies

**The Bodies**

_Dear Will,_

_I'm sorry to say that I'm leaving. I'm leaving you, mother, father, and everybody else who I cause a threat to. I hadn't realized what I would become after the truth was revealed to me. I thought I would be the same and things could go back to the way they were before all of this began. But after I was told, I started to realize the little things I did each day that made me into who I am and I started to pay attention to how I could hurt you or someone I cared about._

_You probably have no idea what I'm talking about, and I would love to explain in great detail what is happening. However, it isn't that I can't trust you, it's that I can't trust what you would do, or how you would react. I can tell you the basics though._

_I'm a adopted. My birth parents were vampires, which makes me one too, I'm guessing. Before you scream murder, I'm a Moroi, a good vampire. I've learned to control the odd urges and such, but that didn't stop me from doing the very thing my kind is forbidden to do. I killed Lexie. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I couldn't stand to have you hate me. Now that I'm leaving I thought you deserved to know. I'm so sorry, but she was your sister and that makes no difference to you._

_James tried to kill me, that's how I found out in the first place. He is what they call a Strigoi, or an evil vampire - the kind you read about in horror novels and watch in movies. __His brother Tomas stepped in and saved me at the last moment and I owe him my mortal life. He explained to me all the details that I cannot tell you, for you are only human and would not understand the complexities of what I'm going through._

_He's taking me to an exclusive school for other girls like me, vampires, so I can truly understand my origins. I cannot and will not tell you the location for fear that you might come looking for me. Your life is something I will not risk._

_If you don't believe me that's fine, you have no reason to. Just know that I loved you as my best friend and so much more._

_~Yours forever, Adelina_

* * *

><p>The words flashed through my head in flashes. An old piece of yellow paper in a boy's hand, his tears staining the vintage writing. The words, confessions, moving across the glossy screen in front of my eyes at lightning speed. It was another piece of Adelina's story. It didn't give away much, for I had guessed as much as she said in the letter, but it still left me wanting to know more.<p>

It was almost time for training when I woke. I climbed out of the bed and tiptoed across Lissa's carpeted floor trying not to wake her. I knew she wouldn't mind me using her bathroom so I showered and changed into my training clothes, black and white soffe shorts and a white tank top. I stayed light on the makeup. When I got out of the bathroom, Lissa was groaning.

"How do you get up so early?" She moaned. I laughed. Apparently, 5:30 was too early for her.

"You get used to it." I told her, gathering the rest of my stuff. As I pulled my hair up into a cheerleader type ponytail, I noticed Lissa's weird glance at me. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just that Adrian talked to me last night. He told me about your question; about being able to manipulate dreams. Why did you want to know?"

"No reason, Lis. I already have it figured out. I doesn't matter." I figured Adelina was telling bits and pieces of her story through the dreams.

"Alright. Go _have fun_ in training," I could believe she had the guts to tease me at this hour. I blushed and through a pillow at her.

* * *

><p>It started pouring the second I got out of training that morning. The rain continued through the day making everybody drowsy. By the time lunch came around it was still going strong. I wanted to scream at it to go away, but that would just make me look stupid.<p>

I headed towards my dorm room. I needed a shower before I met everyone in the cafeteria for breakfast. The hot water felt great, although Liss had healed my soreness from training, I felt grimy. Once I was showered I threw on some jeans and a tank top and a black plasticity nylon jacket to keep the rain off and headed back across campus.

I walked into the cafeteria and headed towards our usual table where Lissa, Eddie, Christian and Adrian we sitting.

"Hey guys," I said as I sat down.

"Hey" They all responded. I noticed that Eddie had two plates of donuts in front of him. As if reading my thoughts he slide one plate up the table to me.

"Thanks Eddie. You sure know the way to a girl's heart." I said sweetly.

"Only yours Hathaway," He replied with a smile.

Lissa laughed at our exchange. She eyed me and then nodded behind me. I turned my head and found Dimitri leaning up against the back wall with the other Guardians watching us. His guardian mask was definitely on but you could see the amusement in his eyes. I smiled and waved. He didn't respond just like I thought.

Then, thunder struck - possibly being the loudest thunder I had ever heard - and some of the girls in the room, including Lissa, screamed scared. Lightning flashed through the large windows going to the courtyard and the lights flickered. The cafeteria went silent and the Guardian's were off the wall, watching closely to see if anything would happen. Then, the lights flickered again, this time settling on off. Every electrical item of campus went off then. With the clouds blocking any light from the sun, it was practically pitched black.

I heard Alberta's room ring through the room.

"Everybody stay calm! We have some Guardian's working on getting the generator working right now. The power should be back in a few minutes!" But still, you could hear the girls who were scared of the dark whimper and clam to their boyfriends.

"Lissa, the lights went out. It's not that bad," I heard Christian try to sooth Lissa as she clung to him in tears. As someone who lived in the moonlight, she really needed to get over it. Not that I was sympathetic or anything...

Blue lights floated around the room. People were starting to bring out their cellphones for lights. The Guardians had flashlights too.

"Guardian Petrov," I heard Stan's voice next. "The generators are completed burnt. The lightning must have blown those out too."

"What? But how? I guess we'll just have to wait for the storm to pass to get the power back. Is the AC running?"

"No,"

I heard heard her sighed deeply. "Go get the extra flashlights and try to see if we have enough for the students. Get them in groups and escort them to the entrance hall. Hopefully this will pass fast." I heard the footsteps of the some of the Guardian's leaving. I took out my iPhone and pressed the center button to turn it on. I held it up and was able to see the faces of my friends. Adrian looked bored and Eddie looked kind of freaked. Lissa was creeping me out with her crying and Christian was just annoyed.

I flashed the phone around the get some light on the rest of the room, although the light didn't carry far. However, I wasn't excepting this.

I screamed, like, a real scream. A scream of pure horror. A Bloody Mary scream.

They were everywhere. Bodies hanging from the ceiling with ropes around their necks, or pinned to the walls with knifes and axes, or sprawled on the floor lying in pools of their own blood. I couldn't stop screaming. Everywhere I turned, there was another one that I came face to the face with. I tripped on the bodies, stumbled over them as I pushed through the hanging dead. I couldn't hear the screams of when they died, pounding on my skull. Their pain and terror.

I only stopped moving when Adelina appeared in the mass of bloody bodies.

"This is how it started, and this is how it will end." She whispered before she was gone, faded into the air. The lights flickered back on and the pain slowed to a drizzle.

I was on the floor, grasping my knees sitting up, my eyes bloodshot and my voice hoarse.

My eyes opened and my hands left my face. The bodies were gone. In replace were Guardians and students, some looking glad that the lights were on and others crowding around me.

"Rose?" I heard Lissa ask hesitantly. She walked up to me with Dimitri close behind her. She knelt down next to me. "Are you Ok?" She asked.

I didn't respond. "Rose," Dimitri was beside her a moment later.

I stood quickly, pushing them out of the way. Ignoring the 'She's crazy' looks from my peers, I rushed out of the room, glad to see that the sun was finally starting to peek from behind the grey clouds. I wiped away the few tears that were drying on my cheeks and hurried to the courtyard. I knew Lissa would demand answers later but for now I needed to get away. The only place I knew I could be safe from all this ghost stuff was the church.

"Rose!" I heard Dimitri's voice behind me. I stopped running and turned around. He was running toward me with a worried expression worn. "Roza, what happened?" He asked, grabbing my arm. I pulled away quickly and jumped back. He seemed surprised for a moment.

"Just, nothing, Ok? I really need to go back to my dorm." I lied and he and I both knew it, but he didn't press. I turned again and went back in the direction of the church.

When I got there, I pushed the large doors open and walked inside. My footsteps were in great contrast with the silence.

"Hello?" I called. I flinched at the noise guiltily. This wasn't a place you could feel comfortable making noise.

"Rose? Is that you?" Just then, Pastor Andrew walked out from behind one of the storage rooms. He was wearing a plain green t-shirt and jeans.

"Uh, yea. Hi."

"What are you doing here?" He asked. I noticed that he must have been cleaning. He was carrying a large box over to a pile of more boxes.

"Do you want some help with that?" I asked suddenly.

"Oh no. I'm fine, really."

"Ok. Well, I'm not really sure why I'm hear. I just needed some peace from...everything going on." I wasn't about to tell a Priest that I was being haunted.

"I know what you mean. Sometimes things just get so overwhelming. I figured with the lights out and all I would go ahead and get started on going through all these old boxes. It has to be done eventually." He added smiling. I tried to smile back but it didn't really make it to my face.

"Are you married?" I asked with interest. I just realized that I've known him for most of my life and I didn't know anything about him, so I was going to make an effort.

"No," He replied surprised.

I frowned. "Oh..." Ok, I give up on being friendly. I was just going to be blunt. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure,"

"Remember when I asked you about ghost? And you told me that after 40 days the spirit would pass on?" His eyebrows raised.

"Yes, I remember. Why?" He set down a box.

"What about the spirits that don't pass on? Like, what if they can't find peace and they're stuck here?"

"Rose, I'm not a parapsychologist. I only know what I can figure out from the subtext of the Bible."

"A what?" I asked confused. He sighed.

"A parapsychologist is someone who studies the paranormal." I nodded.

* * *

><p>When I got back into my room, I shut the door behind me. I climbed into the shower without checking my phone for worried voice mails from Lissa. I stripped and stepped into the steaming hot water. The water burned my back but at the same time it washed away my thoughts. I leaned my head against the tile wall were the shower head was.<p>

I could've sworn I heard the door open but I passed it off as another one of my paranoia's. The water felt like it got hotter, but I was grateful for that.

A cold chill brought up the hairs on my arms, making me shiver. Then it occurred to me that someone was in my bathroom. _Someone was breathing on my neck._

I gasped and whipped around.

Dimitri was standing there in all his glory - completely naked, might I add. I couldn't grasp my surprise.

"Oh my _God_, Dimitri! You scared the _hell_ out of me!" I shouted once I found my voice. He chuckled, a warm sound. But it pissed me off even more. "It isn't funny!"

"I wondered how long it was going to take you to figure out that I was here." I gaped at him.

"That's all you have to say? No 'I'm sorry for almost killing you from a heart attack'?" I jeered.

Then I realized the situation. I was naked. He was naked.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**Eh, not my best chapter, but I wrote this in like, an hour, so don't get on my tail.  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	6. Bewitching Hour

**Bewitching Hour **_aka; Wine, Witches, and Alter-ego Bitches_** :D  
><strong>

"Turn around." Dimitri commanded. Both his arms were on either side of my head and his lips were curled into a devious smirk. My mouth however was propped open still in shock. Water rained on us from the shower head and we were both completely soaked. Dimitri's eyes bore into mine as he stared down at me. It was compelling enough to make me oblige.

I slowly turned around not meeting his eye. It wasn't like Dimitri to be so willing and this case was almost non-existent - he wanted to be in control, having complete dominance over me.

I didn't want to attempt it, but having Dimitri this close to me - naked, no less - was seriously unnerving me. It was turning me into a hormonal 15 year old girl again instead of the mature young adult I was.

But of course, having a dripping wet Russian God in your shower trying to seduce you could do that to anybody.

I heard the snap of the body wash bottle shutting. His hands caressed my _entire_ body, leaving soap in their trail, making me bite back moans of pleasure.

When I turned back around, Dimitri's eyes were clouded with lust. His lips were so inviting and I could hold back; I didn't want to. I bent my knee, shifting the weight to my right leg. Doing this forced our legs together. Now, my body was pressed firmly into his. I could feel every part of him and he could feel every part of me.

As the water washed away the soap and grim from my body, I reached up and put my arms around his neck, pulling him down. His lips captured mine with a hot intensity that only fueled the fire inside of me that was already threatening to explode. Our tongues danced together passionately. His hands wandered me as mine I did to him.

His fingertips slid along my sides, applying the right amount of pressure, yet it wasn't enough. I moaned waiting for him to touch the place that ached for attention. Slowly he leaned down trailing kisses from my cheek down to my neck, watching my reaction as he did so. My skin tingled with pleasure from his touch, and I felt more alive in this one moment than I ever had before with anyone else.

His fingertips slid down further and further, and yet further more, but always missed the targeted area. While my brain was occupied, I couldn't think, or at least I didn't want to. But in the back of my mind, I heard the little voice - my conscious I suppose - telling me to be logical here.

Yes, Dimitri was here. But why? Wasn't he suppose to be caring and supportive after what I just went through? Not controlling and lustful? He didn't seem to think a thing of what happened just a few mere hours ago. Was he just trying to get my mind off of it? But then, Dimitri always played by the rules. He was always a gentlemen and didn't ever want to take advantage of me.

Like he was now...?

I didn't want to stop. No way in hell did I want to stop, but I had to. The little voice, which sounded oddly like my mother, had won the mental fight. I raised my hands and put them on his chest, pushing him back a few inches.

"Wait, wait..." I breathed out trying to catch my breath. His eyes opened with mine.

"Whats wrong?" He sounded just as out of breath as I was.

"Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" I teased giving a little laugh. His arms left my waist and went to the soap again, this time for himself.

"What? You know Roza, just because I'm a guardian doesn't mean I'm not a 24 year old guy. I do have emotions, and like now, sometimes they tend to run a little a crazy."

"Yea, the Dimitri I know never would have said that," I mocked some more, just for the fun of watching him squirm. Except he didn't - squirm that is. He just smiled and rinsed off in silence.

After he was finished, he stepped out of the shower without a word or glance in my direction. I gaped and hurried after him. He was already putting his jeans on when I had gotten a towel around me.

"What, your just gonna leave me here all hot and bothered?" I snapped, probably sounding more annoyed than I really was. "After what I went through just 3 hours ago, I think I deserve some love."

"And what did you go through, Roza? You refuse to tell me. From what I can gather, the lights went off, you freaked out, screamed, the lights came back on, and you were in tears. Then you refused to talk to anybody except the Pastor." I gawked at him for being so blunt.

"How do you even know that I went to the church? Never mind that, I just had a freak out, Ok? I didn't mean to make you have to entice me to get answers." I cracked.

His face suddenly softened. His eyes found mine. "Come here," He coaxed. "Your sure your Ok?" He asked wrapping an arm around my waist. I nodded. I was surprised he didn't see right through my lies. Usually he could read my like an opened book.

Our lips met in a sensual kiss. I smiled through it.

* * *

><p>I woke the next morning to the dreaded sound of my alarm clock. I didn't remember setting it so I concluded that Dimitri did it after I fell asleep. Seeing as it was only 5am instead of 5:30 like I usually set it for. I guess he didn't want me to be late. Thinking about Dimitri brought me to the thought of that fact he fell asleep in my bed. It brought a smile to my face. I turned over on the crumpled sheets to find him. Or shall I say lack off. He wasn't there. His side of the bed was cold. He must have left a while ago to go back to his dorm.<p>

There wasn't a note or anything, but in place of his head sat a flower on the pillow. A rose more specifically. A bright red glowing rose. I couldn't help but giggle like a 4 year old and pick up the rose to smell it. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. The scent was amazing - fresh and clean, like it had been cut only minutes ago.

The sunlight streamed through the window. The clouds and rain were gone.

I got up, showered, and changed into gray sweats and a black sports bra.

When I got to the gym, Dimitri was pulling out some of the thick black mats for sparring.

"Hey," I greeted as I walked in.

Dimitri's attention was on me. He dropped the mat hard on the floor and ran towards me, completely forgetting training.

"Rose. Roza. What happened yesterday? Are you alright?" He cupped my face in his hands and brushed them repeatedly through my hair, worry lining his face. I smiled raising my eyebrows.

"I'm fine. Besides, um, didn't we cover this last night?"

"Last night? Rose, what are you...?" He trailed off. His hands left my cheeks and down to my waist.

"Last night. Where you went all cocky and slept in my bed?" I reminded pointedly. Confusion swept over his face.

"Rose, last night I was with Tasha..."

"What? You thought I was Tasha?" I exclaimed angrily. I couldn't believe him. I completely understand that this was hard for him, having to give up a great opportunity to be with me. To risk everything, his job and his life. But he loved me. If he was still thinking about Tasha after everything...well, it wasn't right.

"No! Rose, I really was with Tasha last night. We were getting dinner with Lord Ozera," He lied. What was it going to take?

"Call him Christian," I said, just like with Lissa. "And you were in _my dorm_, last night. Hell, you freaking _showered with me!_ Like, naked and all!" I insisted.

"Ok, I don't have time for this. Go do your stretches. Now." His face didn't look worried anymore. More like annoyed. He turned around to finished setting up the mats.

"But-"

"_Now_, Rose."

"Fine, but the least you can do is tell me that if you weren't in my dorm last night, then who was? And who left me that rose? Adrian? Eddie? _Jesse_?" I taunted. He stopped in his tracks.

"Rose?"

"What?"

"No, I mean...someone left you a rose?"

"You did, Dimitri."

"I don't know what to tell you, Rose. Maybe you were dreaming or something, but I _wasn't in your room._" He said with a hard face.

"So what? You have a doppelganger or something?" I joked. He cracked a smile. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was just a dream.

But when I got back to my room to change for classes, the rose was still there.

* * *

><p>I was still freaked coming back to my dorm after classes were over, and finding Adelina's sitting on my bed didn't help.<p>

"What are you doing here?" I asked after coming down from my shock.

"I said I was going to tell you rest of the story, didn't I?"

"Well, yea...I guess."

"Good."

"But wait. What happened yesterday? You said that that was how it began and that's how it would end, or something like that. What did you mean?" I asked her. She simply smiled.

"That will be revealed in time, Rosemarie."

* * *

><p><strong>Adelina's POV<strong>

_North Carolina January 1867 4:31am_

_I woke not a second later. The nightmare had consisted of monsters and demon and blood. It wasn't the sort of thing a 17 year old girl should be dreaming. I could feel the air being sucked out from my body, the atmosphere becoming more and more tight. I struggled out from under the blanket covers, racing to the window. I pounded against the window until my fingers felt scrape on the window latches. With one swift movement I flicked them to the side and opened the window with all the strength left in my body. I immediately took in a huge breath of cold air._

_I already felt better. The air expanded my lungs and fueled my brain. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. When my stomach grumbled, I headed downstairs to the kitchen. I normally would ask Kathrine, our chef, to prepare me something, but she was fast asleep, as I should be._

_I hadn't been in our kitchen many times. It was large with 2 stoves and ovens. It was very plain against the rest of the house with plain white walls and simple counters and chairs. A refrigerator sat in very back corner of the kitchen. I turned on the small small as I entered the room and headed there._

_The second I opened the doors I realized there was nothing appetizing in there. Just carrots and lettuce and herbs of a sort. I opened the meat compartment just out of curiosity and found myself mouthwatering over the raw meat. The many kinds of bacon and beef and chicken all stored in a small box. I knew I couldn't eat raw meat, but the blood oozing from the whole turkey was captivating me._

_I couldn't look away. I reached out for the meat and grabbed it by the spot where it's head should of been._

_"Miss Adelina?" Kathrine stood there in her tall blond form, wearing only a think sleeveless nightgown._

_"Kathrine!" I shouted in shock. Disgusted with myself, I broke out of my trans and through the chicken back down and shut the door quickly._

_"Miss Adelina, if you were hungry why didn't you just wake me? I heard the noise and had to investigate." She said smiling. I was frozen. My hands were bloody and grimy._

_"I-uh,"_

_"Now, why don't you go wash up and I'll prepare you something? Rare, even." She pushed me out of the kitchen and I hurried upstairs to wash my hands._

_Was I really going to eat that? Raw and dead? I didn't know what had come over me. It was like...I was some sort of vampire or something._

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

_Present Day_

"That's all I get?" I asked incredibly as she told me it was time for her to go.

"For today, yes." I watched her fade, again.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**Ok, you can all tell me that you hate me after that crappy ending. Go ahead and say it.  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	7. Lies My Parents Told Me

**_D_**_o_**_n_**'**_t _yo_u _thi**_nk ninete**en**'s _**to**_ young _t**o** b**e**_** play**_ed_ b_y_ y_**ou**_r d_ark_ twisted **gam**es? - Taylor Swift_**, **De**_ar _J**o_h**n  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Lies My Parents Told Me<strong>

I stood by my locker waiting for Eddie - we were about to go to 4th period, also known as Guardian Theory with Stan. Joy. I'd spent a pretty good part of the day ignoring the stares and glances - you know, the Holy-shit-should-we-call-the-asylum-or-the-hospital glance.

Yeah. That one.

Apparently I was the rumor of the day. At the moment, the gossip was settled on "How is she suppose to be a kick ass guardian if she's scared of the dark?". I simply ignored it and tried to stay focused on class. Ha, yeah right.

I saw Eddie walking towards me from the end of the hall. I pushed away from my locker and grabbed my bag off the floor. I also saw something, however, at the other end of the hall. When I turned around to look over my shoulder, I saw some old Moroi dude. He had salt and pepper hair, more pepper then salt, and he was wearing a black pin-stripped suit with a purple scarf, probably silk, and tons of gold jewelry. He sort of looked like a mobster. He was flanked by 4 guardians, which was rare. Most non-royals didn't get guardians. Or at least he didn't look royal. I would have seen him before.

He kept walking straight ahead until he got to me. Up close he was taller. About 6 foot or so. A few students stopped to stare and whisper for a moment before moving on.

"Rosemarie?" I scowled at him for using my full name. I already didn't like him.

"That's me. How can I be of service?" I asked as Eddie stood next to me.

"Mr. Castile, I presume?" The man asked curiously.

"Um, yes sir. How do you...?"

"I know your mother," He replied smiling. It was a cheeky smile, almost sinister. "And please, I don't need formalities. Call me Abe, please." I wasn't going to lie that this wasn't getting a bit creepy. His accent was giving off a Turkish vibe.

"Um, so what do-" I began to ask, but the man's - Abe's - head lifted so he was looking over my shoulder. His grin grew.

"Hello Janine." I turned around only to find my mother standing behind me. She looked freaked and wide eyed.

"_Mom?_" I asked incredulously.

"Hello Rose,"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"It's your birthday Rose. Did you really think I wasn't going to be here?"

"Yes." I replied blankly. She scowled.

She ignored me. "Ibrahim, what are you doing here?" I knew that name but I couldn't remember where from.

"I assume that my invitation got lost in the mail?" He said to my mother. His eyes moved from her to Dimitri, who just happened to have joined the circle in front of us with Celeste. "Guardian Belikov. It's been a while. How's your family?" He asked extended a hand to shake. Dimitri hesitated before taking the hand.

"Mr. Mazur." He nodded. "They're fine, thank you."

"No need to be so polite." He nodded again.

"Wait, you know him? And what invitation?" I asked sternly.

"Your birthday of course. Eighteen if I'm correct?"

"Ibrahim, you need to leave." My mom demanded. "Now."

"But why? The party's only just began." He said lively. The bell rang than. There was still a group a students that were crowded around us that were hesitating before going to class. My mother didn't seem to think this get together was all that interesting.

"Everyone to class!" She shouted to the group of students. They scattered quickly.

"Rose, we need to get to class," Eddie persuaded.

"No, wait a minute. What's going on? How do you know it's my birthday?"

"Rosemarie, perhaps we could go somewhere more private?" My mother asked softly.

"Not even. Tell me." She looked even more freaked then before, like she was about to tell me who my father was or something ridiculous like that. Abe just looked smug, like he'd won a bet or been expecting something. I stood there for a moment before she decided to break and answer. She looked down.

"Rose...this is Ibrahim Mazur, your...father." I froze and Dimitri tensed beside me. Eddie's eye's widened as well. Celeste decided that this wasn't her battle and stepped back. My father. I wasn't suppose to know my father. This was him though. The man who'd made me. As he waited for my reaction, everybody stayed silent. I didn't know just what to feel. Sure I was mad at him for completely ignoring me for 18 years of my life. But in another perspective, maybe he had a good reason. Maybe there was some hidden secret. But I still had no idea who this man was. Even if he was my father, I couldn't just accept him into my life.

"I - what?" I stammered, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. I didn't take my eyes off my mother.

"I know this is sudden," Abe began, finally speaking. "but I would like to meet for lunch after your classes. There's a small cafe outside of a town about and hour away. I believe your mother and I would like to talk to you. Explain things." He offered. I shook my head after a moment, agreeing.

"Sure. But um...just of curiosity, what element do you specialize in?" I just wanted to know.

He smiled before walking off. "Fire."

* * *

><p>Adrian whistled loudly seeming to know who he was. I was digging through my closet trying to find appropriate Meet-the-parents clothes. I was stuck between a fit dark purple shirt that read "I'm one of those bad things that happen to good people" and jeans, or a short flowy black summer dress with a denim jacket. I went with the dress. It wasn't exactly sexy, but it made me look good. It would also tell <em>my dad<em> that I didn't like to be told what to do.

"My dad did business with him back in, eh, 2007 I think. He's a powerful guy with contacts to everyone. He does a lot of illegal business too. If you pay him the right amount that is. Everything he does comes with a price. If you want something done discreetly, you go to him. I can't believe I didn't see it before. You two have a lot common." Adrian said. Lissa and Christian were with me as well. I was about to go meet with Abe and my mom, and Dimitri was going to be the one driving me there.

"Are you kidding? He's arrogant, sarcastic, likes to intimidate people, and—oh." Okay. Maybe he had a point.

"I just can't believe you met your dad. Like that nonetheless. I wonder why it was so sudden." Lissa added.

"Yea, that doesn't happen very often." Christian said.

"Well, I'm gonna get some answers soon, so I'll call you when we're done, fill you in." They all nodded.

* * *

><p>I met Dimitri outside in the huge driveway of the academy. He standing by - take a guess- a black Honda.<p>

"Hey," I greeted. His eyed widen for a millisecond when he saw the length of the dress but quickly regained his posture. He was wearing his usual jeans and duster.

"Hello Rose." He replied. He opened the passenger side for me and I climbed in waiting for him to walk around the car.

A few minutes later, we were driving through the endless forests of Montana.

"So how do you know Abe?" I asked him. I was truly curious about how he was connected to him. He face seemed to harden a bit before he spoke.

"Abe was a friend of the family, so to speak. When I was younger money was a real problem in Russia. My mother couldn't hold a real job so he would help us and pay our bills. He also helped when Viktoria was born. She was born with a heart defect and he payed for her surgery, among other things."

"Ok, so that's the family. But how do _you_ know him?" I asked.

"His best friend was...my father." My eyes widened as I connected the strings. "My father had gone to high school with Abe and they became close. And of course, when I 13...well, you know what happened. Afterwards, Abe had completely ignored their friendship and laid down the rules. He's the one who really kicked him out and told him never to come back, I just did the damage. After he was gone he helped take care of my mother until she's healed. He gave us phone number to call if he ever came back." He told me. His gripped on the steering wheel had definitely tightened.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Rose. The damage is done." He said, looking over at me, smiling. "I just can't believe I didn't piece it together before. You two are so-"

I cut him off. "Yea yea. We're both sarcastic and intimidating and all that crap. Adrian already gave me the whole "Oh, you act just liked your father" speech." I said snarkily.

His eyebrows creased. "I was actually going to say that you got your looks from him. But yes, the other stuff is true too." I _hmped_. Pouting, I turned my head to the window.

"Are we there yet?" I asked annoyed. I heard Dimitri chuckle next to me.

"Almost Roza." I smiled. Hmm, that word sent shivers up my spin and made my head spin. That may or may not be why when I turned my head back to the front I saw a girl standing only a dozen feet from the car, which at the moment was going at 62 miles per hour. She was wearing a white nightgown that covered her feet and was gripping a teddy bear to her next, covered with auburn hair. She couldn't have been more then 10 years old. She was smiling.

"Dimitri,_ STOP!_" I shouted, gripping the the door handle. Shock flooded his eyes as he slammed on the breaks. The car swerved and and came to a stop. My body was frozen and my face was full of fear. Did we hit the girl? No, you would have been able to feel it. But where did she go?

"Rose? What happened? What's wrong?" He ranted worried. I quickly unbuckled and climbed out of the, Dimitri following. I ran behind the car. Blood was splattered all over the faded concrete and the bumper of the car. I gripped my stomach and sed my other hand to balance myself on the hood of the car.

"Oh my god," I whispered. There was no sign of the girl, but I wasn't imagining the blood. Where could she have gone? She had to be dead, but there was no body, nor any sign of the blood being stepped in or disturbed. It wasn't on the road just seconds ago.

"Rose, whats- oh god." Dimitri repeated when he saw the blood. That's when I thought about the girl. It hadn't just been a girl. It had been Adelina when she was younger. She'd told me that she'd just recreated my body for herself. Her real body had been like that. Dark auburn hair and copper eyes. Why had Adelina sent me that image, and why now?

"Rose, we didn't hit anything, Ok? That's probably just from before. Deers cross the road all the time. Roadkill."

"Yea, but whose here to hit it? Nobody drives on these roads. And that - that looks fresh." I explained.

"But still, you know the car would have bumped if there was an animal."

"It wasn't an animal. It was a person." I said quietly focused on the blotchy red spot on the road. Confusion swept over his face. And then realization.

"Rose...we're outside the wards. Maybe your...you know, seeing the ghosts?" He offered. I nodded.

"That still doesn't explain the blood."

He breathed out deeply. "I don't know Rose. Some things don't have explanations." I nodded again. He just didn't understand how close his theory was.

* * *

><p>We arrived at the cafe still a bit shaken up, but in tack and ready for battle. Theoretically speaking, of course. I started walking to the door that read 'enter'. I didn't hear Dimitri's footsteps behind me so I stopped and turned around. He was casually leaning against the car with a sad smile, shaking his head.<p>

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

"No, Roza. This is something that you need to do alone." He replied.

"But, I don't wanna do it alone," I complained.

"I know, but most Dhampirs never even come close to meeting their fathers. It's something you should experience with them, not someone who isn't in your shoes. Abe's just as nervous as you are, I promise. Plus, your mother is in there to keep you...under control." He said, searching for the right word.

I huffed. "Fine. Are you going to leave?" He nodded.

"No goodbye kiss?" I said slowly.

"The windows are glass. Your parents can see right through it." He explained.

I nodded. "I'll see you later, then." Then, I took a breath, preparing me for whats to come, and opened the door.

* * *

><p>The first thing I noticed when I walked into the cafe was that the lighting was fairly dim. The ceiling was covered in grape vines - real ones - and the walls were a dark olive green. Every table had at least 2 candles on it and the mood coming off of it was definitely romantic. It was obviously an Italian cafe. Weird place for a parent meeting.<p>

I saw my mother and Abe across the cafe. Abe was wearing the same outfit as earlier, but my mother had changed from her regular Guardian uniform to jeans and loose white shirt. I don't think I'd ever seen my mother in regular clothes. It made her look younger, pretty. Her hair was worn down, covering her ears and stopping lightly on her shoulders.

And also, something Abe had said was making my mother blush greatly. The red flush was very visible on her cheeks. I couldn't help but smirk a bit at that.

I walked up to them nervously. "Hi," I said slowly interrupting their previous conversation. Abe looked up and smiled when he saw me.

"Hello Rosemarie," He greeted, gesturing me to sit next to my mom.

"It's Rose. Only mom gets to call me that. And that's on rare occasions." I warned lightly.

"Hmm, just like Janine when we were kids." He chuckled.

The waiter came over and took our orders.

"So, you gonna tell me why your here now?" I asked after a few light conversions.

"I suppose so. Janine, would you like to start?" Her face hardened as she recalled the memories.

"It started...a long time ago. Me and Abe met in Ankara, the capital of Turkey when we were both 17. I'd never been to a proper Moroi school for training so I grew up on how my parents trained me. My parents were strictly Amish and didn't care much for the Strigoi as long as they stayed away from us, therefore I was never exposed to how dangerous they really were. When I was 14 my mother grew tired of Scotland **(AN: So sorry! I totally forgot where Rose's mother was born!)**, and we moved to Turkey. I'd never liked my parents or their religion, and it strictly forbid me to do anything but study, so one night while my parents were in the market, I snuck out. I wanted to do the wildest, craziest thing I could think of, so I grabbed any money I could find and bought the most..." My mother stopped to search for the right word.

"Insane, sexy, gorgeous, revealing, most not-appropriate Amish dress known to man kind," Abe offered, smirking. My mom's cheeks reddened.

My mother cleared her throat. "Yes." She agreed quickly. "I found a group of girls that were more than willing to get me into a club nearby. There were blazing lights and color streamers and pole dancers. I'd never seen anything like that before and I was so jealous of all those people that had a life outside of their parents, so I grabbed a random boy and started dancing with him."

"That was me," Abe added. "Now, lets get on with my side of the story. I'd been in Turkey my whole life. I was sort of like your Ivashkov boy. So basically, I'd grown up in a Moroi school in Turkey, St. Dauvd, and we were taking our Senior trip to the city, which only happened once a year, so the students were excited. Everyone headed in our own directions and I went to the club." He said.

My mom continued for him. "After a few dances, he'd convinced me to have a drink. Russian Vodka, I believe. It's strong stuff, and since my tolerance was very low, as I'd never drank before, I got drunk fast. I knew he was Moroi, but other than that, I didn't even know Abe's name. We snuck out early and...um..." She paused, her cheeks flushing. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

"And I was conceived, I get it, move on." I said with my hands in the air and my eyes closed. I didn't want to know about my parents previous sex life.

"Ah, no." Abe corrected. "That was later. In a shower, I believe."

I gasped. "Oh, god! Don't tell me that!" He chuckled and I glared.

"So anyways," My mother said strictly.

"Ah right." Abe said. "So, about a week after that night, I hadn't seen Janine once. I was in a bit of a gambling problem. I'd gambled too much and I didn't have the money when I lost, so I went to a few...friends, you could say. I asked them If I could barrow some money and I promised to pay them back within the year, even though I wasn't sure how I was going to get the money. The friends I'm referring to were part of a very imitating gang. They had guns and knifes, and you were wise not to mess with them. I did anyways. So I got the money and payed the person. But I took money from the wrong people. It was few months later when I saw Janine next. We had both turned 18 and we met up at bowling alley and got talking. It turns out her parents had never found out about that night."

"So," My mom continued. "After a few more meetings we decided to start dating. It was just a causal thing, nothing serious, but about a month later...I found out I was pregnant with you." I didn't say anything as my mother spoke. "I was horrified. I was only 18 and I knew I wasn't ready to be a mother. My parents would have disowned me and I'd be homeless, so I told Abe and we considered abortion." I gasped, jumping back in my chair.

"Mom? You would really do that?" I asked shocked.

"No, of course not. That's why your here today." She pointed out. "But back to the story."

Abe started again. "Me and Janine discussed it and decided against it. About a month later, her parents found out, even though we'd tried to hide as best as we could. Of course, Janine was an adult so there wasn't much they could do. They _did_ throw her out though for dishonoring them and their religion so I brought her back to the Academy with me. It was only a few days until I would graduate so I hide her in my room bringing her food and clean clothes and such. After I did graduate, I declined a Guardian and we ran away together. A few days later I found that the gang I had borrowed money from was getting tired of waiting. They came after us, so we ran. They kept chasing us for months on end and kept running. I didn't have the connections or experience that I have now so I had no way to protect us or you. We ended up in Austria about 5 months later. It was almost her due date and we were getting worried if we were going to be able to get to a hospital or not."

And then my mom told the rest of the story. "It had been quiet for a few days when I went into labor. We were staying in a small apartment and decided for a home birth. It would make it easier then going all the way there if someone found us. We called the hospital and they rushed to the apartment. It was the most horrible thing I had ever experienced. 19 hours of labor. You were a stubborn girl, Rosemarie. Right when the hospital was starting to get worried about you, it finally happened. It was the most painful thing I had ever experienced in my life, but in the end, you were a plump healthy baby." I couldn't help but laugh at hearing those words come out of her mouth.

"After everything was taken care of, the hospital left and we were left with you. After another day we decided it was time to move again, but right when we were about to walk out, we were ambushed by the gang. They were about to shoot when the Guardian showed up. It turns out that the leader of the gang was a Strigoi that they'd been tracking for a while. They killed him and was left with finding his followers. They got rid of the rest of the gang members and sent me to a real Moroi school in Germany so I could have the proper training and Abe left to become a private investigator where he went up from there. I sent you to St. Vladamir's 2 years later so you could train without all of the drama going on with me. Afterwards, I didn't you getting hurt so I placed a restraining order on Abe until you turned 18. I didn't want his business getting you hurt again. You could have died that day, Rose. It was the only reason I did it."

Abe's face was hard and my mom's was soft. Her hands were placed over mine on the table softly.

"You did it to protect me?" She nodded. "I always thought it was because you were some douche bag who didn't want anything to do with me." I directed that comment towards Abe, who smiled for a second.

"Your mother was right to do what she did. She was keeping you from harm,"

"And I was always such a bitch about it too! I can't believe I didn't know. I treated you like crap all the time. I'm so sorry," I apologized to my mother. She didn't seem to acknowledge that I'd swore in front of her. She just laughed.

"Let's just eat. This is getting too serious," She commented.

* * *

><p>We walked out of the cafe full and laughing. It was oddly the kind of family moment that I've always wanted. I didn't let the story effect the good time I was having with them. Seeing my mom happy and laughing was a real treat and I really didn't think it would happen again so I savored it.<p>

"Woah, is this your car?" I asked Abe incredulously. It was One-77 Silver Aston Martin and _damn_, that was nice car.

"No." I was sure disappointment was written all over my face. "It's yours."

I gaped at him. "What? You got me a car?" I shouted.

"Oh Abe. Did you really have to do that?" My mom asked sighing. He just smiled.

"This is amazing!" I yelled excited. But my face dropped and he must have seen it.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, its just...well, I don't have a drivers license." I said.

"You didn't take the driver's ed class at the school?"

"No, I didn't see the point in having a drivers license if I can't drive." I told him.

"Well lets change that."

He showed me how to control everything, and then he let me drive back to the Academy.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	8. Shadowlands Of Shadowfaces

_The Inspiration For This Chapter Came From 'Only A Frozen Illusion' by HiddenWitch890_**  
><strong>

**Shadowlands of Shadowfaces  
><strong>

I drove my - amazing, incredible, _fast_ - new car into the parking garage at the Academy. Half of it was for the Guardian cars, and the other half was split off for the few students that actually owned cars. I parked mine at the very end. I wasn't taking chances with anyone bashing into my million dollar car. I thanked Abe again and he told me had to head off to some meeting of a sort for his business, and my mom left for a shift.

I was able to avoid running into anyone on the way up to my dorm. I didn't want to deal with the whole 'you met your father, now tell me' thing. I just wanted some quiet. When I opened the door to my room I saw a light grey box sitting on my bed. It was the type of box you would give someone for clothes or fabric.

I set down my stuff and opened the box, only to find a dress in it with a note on top.

_Rose, tonight is you birthday party. It's in the first level gym at 6pm.__ This dress cost me half of a Guardian's pay check for one year. You will wear it and you will like it. -Lissa  
><em>

_P.S. Is that your Aston Martin in the garage? God, Abe is already spoiling you...  
><em>

I set the note down and pick up the dress. It was a one strap orange and pink dress that went up just past my knees that spread out at the bottom. The entire chest area was covered in silver sequins that gleamed from the orange behind it. Silver strap heels sat under it. (PIC ON PROFILE)

It was almost 6 now so I pulled on the dress and it fit like a glove. I only used a bit of makeup and pulled my hair into messy bun.

When I got downstairs, people crowded around the gym doors as they hadn't opened yet. I could see gold flasks sticking out of everybody's bags or pockets and Guardian's were trying to control the crowd. Who knew so many people would care about my birthday?

In reality, I didn't need nor want a big party. I wanted it to be my friends and Dimitri just playing a bunch of inappropriate games and opening presents and smashing cake into our faces. I didn't want people coming to a party just for excuse to drink and get high. I didn't want presents from strangers, and I certainly didn't want to be surrounded by people who didn't care.

I guess I was sort of mad at Lissa for throwing this big thing without consulting me first, even though the dress was nice. I didn't know why i was so angry all the sudden, and it wasn't even close to a good reason to blame Lissa.

I quickly turned around in anger and headed to the closest bathroom to get a grip on myself. I stood in front of the small mirror and stared at my reflection.

_Rose, are you coming?_ I heard Lis' voice through the bond.

_Yeah, Liss I'll be right there._

I stared at myself for a long time trying to figure out everything. There was something different about me. I still had my long dark hair, big dark eyes, lightly tanned skin and great curves. Though, when I looked closely, I could see the pain in my eyes. Or the stress. I was so worked over the ghost thing, and thing Spirit was getting under my skin again. I needed a break, but whenever I relaxed, it just hit me in the face again.

I through some cold water on my face to try to calm down. When I lifted my head back up, I dried my hands and face.

I looked in the mirror and saw him. I saw Dimitri standing there.

"Dimitri?" I called and turned but I stared into the empty air. He wasn't here.

I'm either insane or crazy. Pick your choice. Sure, I've been known to see a few ghosts, but my boyfriend showing up in a mirror? That's just crazy. _Okay, get a grip on yourself, Rose, stranger things have happened._

I pushed the door opened to the gym to be crowded with people I didn't know congratulating me on 18. I ignored them and wandered the crowd for my friends. I found them sprawled out in a corner by the table stacked high with presents.

"Hey guys," I greeted as I walked up to them.

"Rose! Happy birthday!" They all repeated as we joined in a very awkward group hug.

Things got better throughout the night. I danced with friends and only then I forgot my problems and just let myself be me. People would come up and dance with me, eventually trying to get some and I would use some witty, sarcastic remark to get them to back off. After awhile of dancing I stopped to get something to eat. The academy rarely served anything from outside help but tonight there was Chinese food lined up. I grabbed some rolls and began to eat silently thanking Adrian.

After I placed my food down did I find that pot head Moroi dancing with a line of girls.

"Back off girls, he's not all that he seems," I said smiling.

"Thanks Rosie," Adrian said rolling his eyes.

"Join me for a dance since you ruined mine," Adrian said smiling and I took his hand and we danced. The dance started off great and went on for a couple songs and soon I was twirling myself off the dance floor. That's when I saw him. Dimitri was standing near the wall, arms crossed and smiling. "That's it, Roza. Have your fun; I've always loved the way you dance," I gasped and tripped back wards. Adrian caught my waist and set me up right. Dimitri was still standing there, but now smirking.

"Rose, are you Ok? Rose," When Adrian couldn't get my attention, he turned back to see what I was looking at. His face searched the crowd but couldn't seem to find anything interesting.

"Rose, what are you looking at?" I glanced back up at his face.

"Nothing, I just, um, I need to get some air. Tell Lissa I'm outside," I turned before he could question my actions.

I hurried towards the door slamming my way through the endless waves of people. I finally got outside and breathed in the fresh air. I hadn't realized it was so late already. The sky was dark and lined with brightly colored stars. I found a quick area and leaned against the patio fencing.

I knew I should tell someone what's going on. I was never going to be able to push these ghosts away without help. And even then...

I didn't even know what these ghosts wanted, or why they were coming after me. Did they want peace? Revenge? War? I needed to find out, and the only way I could do that was by talking to Adelina again, but how? She always came to me. I didn't know how to call her. And was it her who was sending me all these images and visions or was it another ghost? She told me I needed to be prepared.

And suddenly the air hissed, cutting Adelina off. It was like TV static was filling the air. Adelina's head jumped from place to place and a few seconds later it settled on my face.

_"I need to leave." I noticed her body starting to fade out._

_"No - wait! What about the story? What happens?" I asked her frantically._

_"You will know the rest soon, but now, I must leave. They don't like me being here. I'm not suppose to be here."_

_"What do you mean? Whose they?" I step forward and try to grab her hand, but my fingers only go right through it._

_"The dead. Be prepared, for they are coming!" She was gone and I was left standing there surrounded by darkness. The silence was broken a few moments later by the ringing of my phone. I didn't pick it up, because if I did, I knew nobody would be on the other line._

I looked back at the memory. She said that the dead are coming. Did that mean they wanted a war? But over what? Or maybe they needed help.

"Rose?" Dimitri's voice startled me out of my thoughts.

Was it really Dimitri?

"Oh. Hi," I said cautiously.

"What are you doing out here?" It must be Dimitri. But then, I've thought that before too.

"I just needed some air. It's way too crowed in there." He nodded understandingly.

"I haven't gotten to talk to you yet. How did things go with Abe?"

I sighed. "It was great. They explained everything and then he bought me car." His eyed widened.

"The new Aston Martin in the garage?" I gaped at him.

"How does everybody know that?" I asked surprised. He shrugged.

"So, Roza." He said, leaned on the rails next to me. "Happy birthday," He smiled. I smiled back.

"Thanks. I didn't really want this big thing, but you know Lissa. She makes a big deal out of nothing." I said. He looked behind his shoulder to see if anyone was with us. When there wasn't, his hand wrapped around mine. I shivered. His touch was colder then usual. But that could just be from the general temperature of the air, right?

I shyed away from his eyes and looked straight ahead of me. I could feel his smile fade.

"Hey, is everything Ok?" He asked worried.

"Uh, yea. Everything's fine. It's just, you know, cold." I lied.

"Why do you always do that?" He asked curiously.

"Do what?"

"Lie to me." I froze.

"I'm not lying," I insisted. He gave me a Do-you-really-think-I'm-that-stupid look.

"I know you Roza. This is the third time now. Is it me? Did I do something?" He asked.

"What? No!" He sighed and let go of my hand. His face hardened again. This was definitely the real Dimitri. Then I realized. I really was lying to him. I was lying to everybody every time I said nothing was wrong. I needed to tell them. But when and how? Would they even believe me? I mean, of course they know I can see ghost, everybody does, but how would they help me anyways?

"Come on. Let's go back inside." He said. He turned his back to me and walked towards the door.

"Are you seriously mad about this?" I asked in disbelief. He turned back to face me. His shoulders came down.

He paused. "Yes, Rose. You can be stubborn as much as you like, but when you want to tell me the truth, I'll be here."

"Are you-are you breaking up with me?" His eyes shot to mine.

"I don't know," And he left.

When I finally got the few tears out of my eyes, I went back inside.

"Rose! We've been looking everywhere for you! Come on, we're opening presents now!" Lissa said once I found her.

"Actually, can I just open them in my room? I'm not really in a party mood anymore,"

* * *

><p>Lissa obliged to my commands and gathered up the presents. I shut the party down and told everybody I was leaving.<p>

Me and Lis walked quietly to my dorm with a sack of presents. I knew half of them were going to be dumb inconsiderate things like a 'make your own rock family kit' or something.

We stopped at my door. I'd decided to open them all tomorrow. I was way to depressed to be happy right now.

"Oh, and hey, I wanted to tell you this, but I didn't want you to be mad."

"What is it? I asked.

"I kinda, accidentally, of course, told Christian and Eddie about Dimitri. I really didn't mean to," She apologized.

I sighed. "It's fine Lis. Besides, I don't even know if there is a me and Dimitri anymore." Then, I grabbed the presents ignoring the confused look on her face and shut the door behind me.

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><p><strong>I only got three reviews for the last chapter! Please REVIEW!<br>**

**And for any Hunger Games readers: Gale or Peeta?  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	9. Conversations With Dead People

_T_**h****e****s**e w_ou_n**ds** **wo**_n_'t _se_**e**_m_ t**o**_ heal_, t**h**_is_ p_a**i**n_ i**_s_** **ju**s_t_ t**o**_o_ _real_, t**he**re'_s_ j**u**_st_ t**o**_o_ _m_**uc**h t**h**_a_t **ti**_m_e **ca**_nn_o**t** _erase_. - **_Ev_**an_**e**s_**c**_e_n**_ce_,** _M__y_ I_**mm**_or_ta_**l  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Conversations With Dead People<strong>

Like I suspected, I got mostly junk for my birthday. There was a bunch of makeup baskets, some Carrie Underwood CD, like, 40 bags of M&Ms, and the worst, a cook book. I don't cook. When I finally got past the crap presents, I went to the gifts from my friends.

First, I opened Christian's. I was really surprised when I opened it and found a brand new orange iPod Touch. Of course, the surprise was short lived as I turned it on to find a bunch of songs that were already preloaded. Most of them were by singers that I hated.

Adrian's present was a bit more subtle. Or at least I thought it was. When I unwrapped it I thought it was just a simple gift card packet. I took the gift card out to find that it wasn't a gift card, but a credit card. A gold credit card that was linked to Adrian's personal account.

Eddie had dug up an old shirt that me and Mason had made when we were back in the sixth grade. It was a black jersey that had both of our names on that back, and the word _badass_ on the front. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it had brought tears to my eyes. We'd always talked about life as Guardians, but Mason would never get to experience it.

Lissa had ordered me an amazing collection of underwear from Victoria's secret. It was all lacy and colorful, and Dimitri would have loved it. Loved. As in past-tense.

I wasn't sure what Dimitri and I were anymore - that's assuming that there was still a 'Dimitri and I' anyways - but I'm pretty sure we hadn't broken up. Although, he'd definitely been trying to make a point when I suggested it. He wanted me to be honest about everything's that's been happening lately. I wasn't sure that I could though. I mean, how hard could it be? I was pretty sure that Lissa and everybody was getting suspicious of my recently bipolar behavior.

I wasn't just that they'd think I was crazy. I was...

Well, I guess it was my pride. If I told them, it would be the same as asking for help. If I did that they would think I was weak, and that just wasn't an option. But they were my best friends. They couldn't, wouldn't, make fun of me in such a serious matter like this.

It was noon when I head headed out. I was going to find Lissa and tell them over movie night. We hadn't done that in so long, since the 7th grade I think. The only differences would be that Adrian was replacing Mason, and that Christian was a new addition. It was Sunday, so they should've been in the cafeteria eating lunch, but they weren't. I check all their dorms and the courtyard, but I still couldn't find them.

Where were they?

I was currently standing behind the secondary campus courtyard. It had almost been an hour since I'd started looking.

**Adelina's POV**

"Rose," I said, trying to get her attention. Her body turned and she stumbled back when she saw me.

"God! You almost gave me a freakin' heart attack!" She shouted after she recovered. I felt my lips turn into a lopsided smile, but I held it back.

"You can't tell them. Your friends? You can't tell them,"

"About what?" She asked after a moments hesitation.

"About me! About everything that's happening! Anna doesn't think it's time yet." Her face was suddenly very aware. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Anna? As in... Shadow-Kissed Anna?" I nodded.

"But that's you too. Soon, you'll be known as Shadow-Kissed Rose." I joked. She apparently didn't think it was that funny.

"You know her? Personally?" She asked wondrously.

"Yes...we're friends...of a sort."

**Dimitri's POV**

I stood behind the corner of the wall, listening to Rose. She was ranting to her herself about Shadow Kissed Anna. Why? Was it the Spirit? Or was she really seeing ghost like I suspected? That would clear up everything that's been going on, or at least a chunk of it. I knew I should let her know I was here, but I needed to know what she wasn't telling me.

* * *

><p><strong>Adelina's POV<br>**

_North Carolina, January 1867_

_I woke an hour later and it was dawn. The sun crept its way up through my window and cast shadows on the cream colored walls. My mind thought back to the night, only hours ago. My hands had been covered in the chicken's blood. I'd felt drawn to it and I didn't want to let go. I wanted to devour it and not stop until the last drop was gone._

_I threw back the covers disgusted with myself yet again.__ My nightgown was still stained in the bottom corner where the blood had splashed on me. I quickly called Caroline up to draw me a hot bath. I heard her reply __quickly and then her soft feet shuffling in the bathroom across the hall. I grabbed a towel from the closet when she knocked on my door to let me know it was ready._

_I hurried to strip myself of the nightgown and toss it on the ground as if removing the odd memory from me._

_I tried not to pay attention__ to the coppery pain in the back of my mouth, but it was obvious that I had bitten my tongue. I leaned over into the sink and found a fair amount of blood in my mouth. I quickly spit it out and rinsed. I grabbed a drying cloth and pressed it inside my mouth to stop the bleeding._

_After I was finished in the bathroom, the halls were light brightly with sunlight. I walked downstairs where my father and James were shaking hands formally._

_"Hello, sir," James addressed my father as I walked downstairs._

_Today James and I were going to have our first private date arranged by my parents. It wasn't something I was looking forward to nor something I could ignore. Caroline pulled out an olive green dress that flowed out from the waist. The sleeves clung to the arms completely off my shoulders and the sleeves were cut short. My hair was slightly curled and tumbled over my shoulders in grace._

_"Good morning father. Hello James," I said with a perfectly preformed fake smile. His smiled gleamed when he saw me. His eyes were a dark copper unlike the gold they usually were. It made him look older then he actually was.  
><em>

_"Good morning Adelina," He greeted._

_"Miss Adelina," Caroline's voice rang behind me. I turned. "Mr. Will left a message for you."_

_"Oh, well. Just...I'll read it when I get back," I told her when I saw my father's expression. I knew he disliked Will. He was a reckless fool and I would be the first to admit it, but we'd known each other since we were children, and we were best friends. My father was just concerned I was going to put him first instead of James. He loved James._

_"Where are we going?" I asked as James helped me into the carriage._

_"It's a surprise," He answered. I sighed and tried to keep the conversation light, not wanting to be rude. I honestly just wanted to jump out of the carriage and die being trampled by the horse...but course, I didn't tell him that._

_The carriage stopped about a half hour later. James helped me out of the carriage and tied up the horses. I couldn't help but notice the basket in his hand._

_A picnic. How predictable._

_We were in a field. It was a huge vast of endless green grass. Multicolored __flowers stuck out randomly through the green and the road cut off where the grass began. I could just make out a stream - or was it a lake? - in the distance. I could hear the water flowing so there must be a small waterfall somewhere along it. The sun gleamed brightly, reflecting off James' hair, making it look blue instead of black. _**(Think...Attack of the Clones) (ps. Star Wars nerd reference)**_  
><em>

_He smiled and took my hand, leading me into the wave-like grass._

_"Beautiful, Isn't it?" He asked once we had found a dry spot and started setting up the blanket._

_"Mhm," I smiled, not meeting his eye. _

_"I didn't mean the scenery, you know," The thing about James, it that no matter how subtle he is, or no matter how polite and well-mannered he was, and no matter how much you wanted to bite his head off because of it, he could always make you blush. "Come on, let's eat," He said._

_It was the basic. Little sandwiches and fruit, pudding for dessert._

_I set my bowl down and glanced at him. He was already finished eating and was laying in the glass, letting the sun soak into his skin. I'd never really realized how pale he was before._

_Without opening his eyes, he spoke. "Adelina, can I ask you something?"_

_"Of course," I replied._

_"Do you really want to marry me?" He asked without hesitation. My breath caught. "And please don't lie. Your parents aren't here."_

_I stayed silent for a moment. I had a feeling he already knew the answer. "It's an arranged marriage, James. Even if I did, I wouldn't have a choice."_

_"We all have choice, Adelina. What if I could give you another option, rather than marrying?"_

_"Another option? What are you talking about?" I asked curiously. I took the moment to lean back into the grass next to him, laying on my side._

_"What if you didn't have to marry me, but still we could still be together...forever." His eyes opened and his face came dangerously close to mine._

_"As...friends? Or something else?"_

_"Adelina...become my queen of the night. Bond with me." I sat up quickly._

_"Bond? James, what on earth are you talking about? Are you feeling alright?" I asked._

_"Of course. Eternity is lonely. But you are beautiful, and would make the perfect companion." All the sudden, his eyes flashed. They weren't gold anymore, but a dark crimson. Like blood. I gasped and stumbled back._

_"You eyes," I warned, telling him to keep his distance._

_"Yes, but you know what I am, what we could be. And I promise it wouldn't hurt."_

_"What you are? James..." I stood and stepped back._

_"Wait," Realization seemed to dawn on his face. "You don't know what you are. They never told you. Your parents never told you the truth,"_

_"The truth?"_

_"About your adoption," My eyes widened once again._

_"Adoption?"_

_"Yes, your parents adopted you from a Moroi family. The Dragomir family I believe." I wanted to scream, but instead I took another cautious step back as he stood up._

_"Moroi?"_

_"Vampires,"_

_And that was all I could take._

_"Vampires? James, your delusional. Stay back," He only came closer._

_"You see, Adelina. I'm a Strigoi. I want to make you like me, so we can be together for all of eternity - or at least until the ends of the earth." He came a step closer._

_"James, stay back! I'm going home, and I'm going to tell my father," I shouted. He only laughed._

_"Like your father could stop me from turning you,"_

_I tripped over the excess fabric at the bottom of the dress and scrambled further back. I saw him lean down and grab something from the basket. It was a knife. I stood quickly and ran for the carriage, hoping to be able to get one of the horses loose fast. I reached the horses and saw that James was still back in the field, obviously not too worried about me getting away. He dragged the knife across his wrist, what for I didn't know._

_The knots were impossible to get undone. James was walking closer and blood was streaming from his wrist and into the grass, staining it. I finally got the first part unknotted when I heard a voice._

_"James," It was Thomas, James' older brother. He was much older, actually, around 30 years old. He had been in the war and was back for celebrations, even though it ended more than 5 years ago. He had dark brown hair that swung in his face and soft eyes that didn't nearly match James'. Were they actually related? They looked nothing alike.  
><em>

_"Thomas," He said. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm here to stop this."_

_"Stop what, exactly?"_

_"You know what. I'll stake you here and now if I have to." He warned. Staked? Another vampire reference. And just when I began to calm down a bit, he really does pull out a stake. It looked like it was made of sliver with a gold handle.  
><em>

_His eyes drifted over it and he stopped walking. "Adelina, I'll be seeing you soon." And just like that, he was gone._

_I turned to Thomas surprised._

_"He just...left?" I asked._

_"Yes. He doesn't do so well around things that could kill him. He's been living such a long time he doesn't want to risk it." He looked over my apparence and helped me with the ropes._

_"How long is that exactly?"_

_"About 500 years, give or take a few."_

_"If what he said is true-" I began._

_"It's true. Your a vampire, a Moroi. Our kind are born, we grow old, and we die. We also only feed on willing humans, and we don't kill them, otherwise we turn into Strigoi. They're the evil ones."_

_"So...if we're vampires, then how are we walking in the sun?" I asked._

_"Moroi can't be killed in the sun. It can make you weaker, more tired, but it won't hurt you. Strigoi can't go in the sun."_

_"But...James was just out here," I pointed out._

_"James...is a special case. He was born in the late 1600s. He was 14 when he became a Strigoi, during the Salem Witch Trials. Sarah Good was the only real witch in the Salem Witch Trials that was executed. All the others were innocent. She was also a Strigoi, as James was a Moroi.. She forced him to drink her blood before her trials, and so he became a Strigoi. Because she was a witch, her blood contained magic. That magic manifested into his blood, turning him into a Strigoi with the power to walk in the daylight. His aging slowed and when he reach the age of 18, he stopped completely. The reason he was able to deceive so many people of his age was because he used a Conceal. It, well, it concealed his age to make people think he was a child that was aging."_

_"Wow...I'm not sure I believe you." I said after he was finished. Vampires? They couldn't be real..._

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

_Present Day_

"Oh my god. What happened?"

"A lot. I'll explain but I really must be getting back_, _so later." I watched her fade again until It was just me. I sighed. How did Adelina's story relate to my life? I was finding out more and more, and soon enough, I'll know why she wanted to talk to me, and not someone else. Maybe because I'm the only one that can see her.

I heard a stick crack. Dimitri appeared behind me.

"_What_ was that?" He asked with a hard voice.

"What was what?" I asked pretending that nothing had just happened.

"No, we are not going through this again. Don't just pretend that you weren't sitting there for almost an hour talking to yourself...or someone." I searched my mind for an answer to this dreaded problem.

"Um..."

"Rose, tell me. I'm getting sick of this."

"Dimitri...I can't. I'm sorry, but she said that I couldn't," I can't believe I was blaming Adelina.

"She...so you are seeing the Ghosts again, but now in the wards." I nodded, not saying anything. "Are you going to tell me what's happening that's so important you can't trust me with."

I stay silent. "I can't. I'm sorry." Then I turned to walked back to my dorm.

"Yes you can Rose! Because if you don't...then this is the last time I'll ask. This is the last you will see me outside of training. I meant what I said at your party Rose. I want to help you, but I can't if you won't let me. I also meant what I said about not wanting to be with someone who can't be honest with me."

I hesitated before speaking, knowing that this was my last chance. I couldn't betray her. I couldn't betray Anna. "I guess this is it then?" I choked on my words, holding back tears. So this is what it felt like to have to choose what's right over what you want. But the thing is, I didn't know who was right. If it was Adelina or Dimitri. Hell, I didn't even know if this was Dimitri. I couldn't take chances though. If Adelina's turns out to be my enemy, she could do much worse things to me then Dimitri could. She could hurt me, so I would be wise to play be her rules, even if she was on my side.

He breathed in deeply. "I believe it is. I'll see you at training. Don't be late." His voice was hard and cold and betrayed any emotion. He turned...and left.

I broke down on the side of the building, sobbing. What were the ghosts turning me into? A heart breaking liar.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**Sorry! This chapter was kind of rushed. I haven't updated in a few days and I wanted to get this finished! I'll be finishing up Adelina's story in the next couple of chapters! How do you feel about Adelina being related to Lissa? I honestly wasn't planning that.**

**Remember that point in the series when you really wanted Rose to be able to see Anna's ghost? Yes, that'll happen soon.  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	10. Anna Dressed In Death

Here's a quick A/N for you all! **Today is National Day on Writing** 2011! This is a day dedicated to writers all over the world so that we know that we are loved for our creativity and style. To celebrate, I'll be posting a **new one-shot** in a few days that I've been working on for a while. It's a **Mortal Instruments** Fanfic focusing on **Malec**, so if you love the series like I do, please watch for it! It'll be my first TMI fic so I hope you check it out!

**And again, happy National Writing Day :)**

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><p><strong>Anna Dressed In Death<br>**

**Unknown POV**

Her hair was sprawled over the pillow, her breaths were even, and her eyes were squinted. Definitely a nightmare. I smiled slyly. My hair whipped along my face as I watched from the window. This was her. This was the girl who would take Anna's place as our leader. She would defend her own kind fight against her loved ones.

I needed her to be strong. We all needed her to be strong. But of course, love would always come in the way. Hopefully she could look past it.

It's been over a century since the attacks and now the others had finally agreed to it. We now understand that if _our _guardians had been stronger, like the girl, then so many could have survived. Instead, we died.

But this girl...she could see us, feel us. She had the strength to defend us. I knew she would never do it on her own, even if they hated her, but the others thought differently. I knew what to do.

The next thing she knew, a searing pain shot through her head and seemed to travel through her body. She was incapable to think, to speak or even move. She tried to scream for help but couldn't open her mouth wide enough to get the words out. She wanted it gone. She would do anything for it to stop. Then all of a sudden she collapsed and her mind went blank.

My skin merged with hers, our minds becoming one. Her memories became mine, and her memories became nothing. I overpowered her body and sunk into it. I crawled through her veins and blood and blended our souls. I mended her pain and worry and told her to let go. She pushed away, making my hold on. Her mind jumped and wiggled trying to dodge me, trying to detach us.

"Shh..." I whispered into her. She froze, realizing that I was _inside of her_, not on the outside. Her eyes closed, my eyes closed, and when they opened again, she was gone.

I hadn't been in a solid body for a _very_ long time. Having being able to touch my flesh and blink and breathe was like a whole new world. I had weight to hold, I had to move by using my, her, muscles. I felt emotions, and I could channel them into tears or rage or screams.

I fell back a few times before being able to reach up and throw the blankets back. When I pulled on the string to the lamp on her bedside, it was like lifting a thousand pounds. The feeling of have material against my skin was like 1868 all over again.

Of course, as a Moroi I'd always been weaker than the Dhampirs, but now I had the half vampire's strength. It added to the perks.

The second my - her- feet hit the ground, I stumbled. I couldn't hold myself up. It was like learning how to walk for the first time. I quickly stood after falling over and tried to just stand without moving. My legs were shaking and weak, but I managed to take a few steps. The carpet was soft on my bare feet and deflated under the weight of my toes. I walked slowly to the bathroom on the opposite side of the room holding myself up by holding onto the furniture.

I looked around for the light switch and flipped it on.

The mirror reflected her image. Dark brown hair, silky and smooth that ran down her back in waves and stopped mid back; pools of a coppery golden brown that swam in her eyes, a flawless face and small nose.

These clothes were extremely uncomfortable. Just lose pants and a...tank top? I think that's what they call it. Not to mention the fact that I was in a female body. I felt like I was missing one thing and something else had been added.

I smiled grimly into the mirror. If my plan worked, I should have her on our side in a matter of days. All I had to do was make her friends hate her. Then, when she felt like she had nobody, I could leave her body and cross her over to our side. I could explain to her why we needed her and what she would do.

It would be a lot easier to have a pair of solid hands. She could do the dirty work and we could do the hunting.

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><p>Days before, I started researching the girl's life. Who her friends were, what classes she took, who she loved, her parents, her interests, her favorite things, foods, and movies. I crammed everything in my transparent brain so I could live her life in the way she would, but at the same time mess it up completely.<p>

The shadow kissed thing was harder to work with. Anna wouldn't describe it to me, like all the others, so I wasn't sure how it worked. Was it both ways? Could they read minds? See in each others eyes? Who was her bond mate anyways? The only thing I was sure about was that it would drive her crazy and she could see us.

I guessed that she was bound to Vasilisa Dragomir, Adelina's great great great - great?- niece. I'd learned that the girl was in a car accident years before and that was where she died and was brought back. Vasilisa was the only one, well, not-dead to bring her back. From what I could guess, she was a spirit user like Will.

"Hathaway," It took me a few seconds to realize that the person was talking to me. I glanced up from the book that I was suppose to be reading, but honestly, I couldn't understand this style of writing at all. There were words that I'd never seen before, like 'duathlon' and 'cyber stalking'.

It was Eddie, a close friend of the girl's. As I was still getting used to her voice, I simply nodded and smiled. It was breakfast and everybody was staring at me.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Why are you being so quiet? You look sad. Something happen between you and Belikov?" He asked popping something called a _breakfast burger_ into his mouth.

Belikov, Belikov, Belikov...who was Belikov? I thought, reaching back to the research. There was Christian, Adrian, Mia, Lissa, Eddie, Dimitri...but no Belikov... What odd names...

Wait! Belikov...that connected to _guardian_ Belikov. Guardian Dimitri Belikov. The same lover that had broken up with her yesterday.

"Oh...uh...yea." I said plainly.

Vasilisa raised an eyebrow. "Wanna elaborate on that?"

No, I really didn't, but it's not like I had a choice.

"We broke up." I was trying to keep my phrases short. I didn't want to accidentally give anything away, which could easily happen if I wasn't careful.

"What? Why? What happened?" She exclaimed.

"We just..." I searched for a word in this time period. "didn't click." I decided.

"Well I'm sorry. If you need anything-" She started.

"Look!" I shouted. "I don't need you coddling me, Ok? I'm old enough to take care of myself! I would honestly feel a lot better if you just left me alone and stopped bothering me!" Hurt flashed across her face and shock on the others.

"God Rose. She was just offering to help," Christian said. "You didn't have to make her cry." It's true. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Yeah, well if she was half as strong as I was, then she wouldn't be," I retorted, hoping I sounded like 'Rose'.

I walked out of the cafeteria pleased with myself. I was on the track to getting them to completely turn against her. When that happened, things could be put in motion. I smiled slyly and sat down in the courtyard next to one of the many trees and grew there. The sun was shinning and it warmed my face. It felt like I was being bathed in warmth and light, unfreezing my skin from the centuries of being cold and dead. And buried.

"You weren't at training." A sharp voice cut off behind me. I cranked my head to find Dimitri Belikov standing above me, towering over the girl's small frame.

"Right...I was...busy," I said, looking away.

I heard him sigh and the footsteps as he walked closer.

"Rose," He said, leaning down next to me. "Maybe I was harsh the other day, but my decision stands. You can't just blow off training because of our personal lives,"

I snorted. "Yea, our _personal lives_. Do guardian's get those? Or is it just us?" I jested, testing the waters to see how he would react to wit.

"Just be at training this afternoon," He frowned and turned to leave. I smiled as he left, pleased with myself once again.

* * *

><p>I skipped training this afternoon, just to piss off the Russian. I walked into her dorm room after her last smiling.<p>

Of course, my joy was short lived. I walked into her bathroom, about to shut the door when I heard a voice I hadn't heard in a very long time. 1942, I believe.

"Mikael," The voice said. "Get out of her. _Now_!" Anna's commanding voice echoed in my head. She always had that power over you. She had the voice of a leader, but of a witch all the same. There was never any play in her voice. Everything she said, she meant. Also, there was a reason why we wanted the girl, Rose, to take her place. Anna didn't want war. She didn't want to fight for revenge.

Her black hair hung low, almost surpassing her waist, and her bangs whipped across her face. Her eyes were cold and black, as were all of ours.

"Anna." I said. "Nice to see you again," I jeered.

"I'm not playing around Mikael. The girl has nothing to do with this. Let her go," She shouted.

"Please Anna. We both know that without the girl, we have no leverage, no way of communicating with the other side! We need her to win!"

"There isn't going to be any war, Mikael! You and your followers need to stop this. You want revenge on innocent people for something that happened over a 100 years ago!"

"There is nothing innocent about these people! We all died because our Guardian's were scared and helpless and weak! And now, their blood runs through those living today! Like Adelina for example, and the Dragomir girl, or Will and Adrian Ivashkov!"

"But they are both Spirit users, there's a difference."

"Is there?" I asked quietly with a cold voice.

She paused. "Let the girl go. I will speak to her myself if I must."

Against my will, I closed my eyes. And when I opened them again, the girl's body was on the ground, and I was floating.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

When I woke, my head was pounding. Light was still streaming through the window, which was odd because I'd just gone to sleep. How did I end up on the bathroom floor? In the middle of day no less. All I could remember was waking up and having a jolt of pain in my spine.

I sat up and looked at the clock across the room. It was almost 9 p.m.. Training was over. Curfew was just a few minutes away.

"Rose," I heard. I stood up and walked into my room, finding it straight and organized. Expect for the figure lurking in the back corner.

"Rose," It was that delicious Russian accent that I craved to the point of tears. It made me want to cry and laugh and scream and die and then come back to life again.

"Dimitri?" I asked glaring into the shadows.

He stepped out of the dark and into my sight. The first thing I noticed...was that his eyes...

"You're not Dimitri," I realized quickly catching onto the game he'd been playing me by the whole time. "Your...I don't know. Stay away from me," I warned backing up. It was required by all St. Vlad students to have protection in their rooms - no, not _that_ protection - and now I knew why.

I opened the dressed behind me and pulled out the silver stake that I never returned to Alberta after the attacks.

He chuckled. "Funny, that's the same thing she said to me when she found out. And also, that thing won't hurt me. Now, I'll try a more subtle approach, try not to scare you so much."

And much to my shock, I watched in horror and fascination he evaporated into a thin simmering silver mist, soaking into the air. I gasped and jumped back surprised.

Then, the knocking starting.

_"Their Coming,"_ Mason had said back at the attacks. I hadn't known why. It hadn't been the Strigoi, are students. But there were Ghost. And I knew now what this was. It was war.

The tapping at the door didn't stop. It only got louder. I backed into the corner as far as I could go with the stake in hand. Suddenly, the tapping stopped. I cautiously removed myself from behind the bed and stepped out into the opened. Everything was normal. My sheets were straight, my books were in the same place I left them. And there was no tapping. No breaking windows. And most of all, no Dimitri.

I dropped the stake of my bed, but kept my fist ready. I slowly opened the door. There was nothing at first. I stepped into the hallway, standing only a few inches from my doorway.

I felt hot breath on my neck. "Roza..." He whispered. "I've missed you." I quivered with fear as his fangs neared my throat.

* * *

><p><strong>Review! ▼<br>**

**LYRICS: Send me some haunting lyrics! I need to put together a short lullaby for the ghosts - hence the title 'Lullaby of the Dead'. And remember, it doesn't matter what the melody is!  
>BETA: I'm currently looking for a beta for Lullaby of the Dead! If your interested please PM me!<br>SEQUEL: I got a question about this. Yes, I am planning a sequel, and as of now, the title is 'Hymn of the Iron Piano'. I really have no idea how long this story will be, but I'm guessing about 20-30 chapters.  
><strong>

**Elisabeth xxxx  
><strong>


	11. Moonlit Lyrics

**Thanks a bunch to PrincessRedfern for the lyrics! I changed them up a bit, but overall, they're all her's :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Moonlit Lyrics<strong>

I was slammed into the wall opposite of me a second later. I bounded off the wall and back onto my feet again. I turned to find him still in my doorway. His face was china white with hands sculpted from ivory, and his lips...well, cherub lips on the face of a devil. His eyes held that sexy hunger blood-lusted longing. No, this wasn't Dimitri.

It was getting rather easy these days to state the difference.

"Who are you?" I demanded ignoring the sharp pain in my side. He chuckled.

"Why Roza, don't you know?"

"No. I know _him_, not you." I stated.

"Oh, but Roza, it's all the same. Just because our minds are different doesn't mean we're not all connected. You, me..._Dimka_. How do you think I'm him? How do you think she is you?" And with every word, he got closer. His eyes bore into mine. They were red...but oh so hypnotizing. They had a certain undefinable sparkle to them. Alluring and sensual, with a touch of mischief. They glowed, casting off stardust as a diamond casts fire and they smouldered like embers of a fire in a desert night. I fell into them, getting lost in the numerous paths.

I could only stare.

Too quickly, my body was turned around and thrown a step or two back, crashing into the wall behind me, thrown out of the trance. His left arm was pushed on the wall beside my head, holding my arm, forcing me to be trapped between the wall and his body. His breath lingered across my lips.

"Roza..." He said. "That's the proper way to compel to lady," Taken completely off guard, I didn't stop him when his true vampire nature came out. His lips curled back into a snarl, his fangs extended sharp as knifes.

And they pierced my neck.

I cried out with the pain, tossing my head back and pushing against him. Obviously in my state there was nothing I could do to stop him. Normally, the pain is suppose to subside and be replaced with ecstasy. But now, it was only pain. My body went numb and my head spun.

I could feel the blood being pulled away from my body. I quivered and shuck. The pain...oh the pain. It was the last thing I felt before it all went black.

* * *

><p>My eyes pealed themselves opened. I groaned from the pain that erupted from my neck. A bright light shined and I couldn't help but squint with the light.<p>

I could feel the hard carpeted floor beneath me, as I was laying on my side, jammed between the wall and the floor.

When the bright light suddenly shut off, I found Dr. Olenski holding a wet washcloth, about to press it to my neck. I quickly sat up and grabbed my neck embarrassed, well knowing what they were thinking. _She willingly let a Moroi dude drink her blood, and in a hallway no less._

Christian was crouched down next to her wearing a concerned face. "Rose, your awake,"

"Yea, I guess. How long was I out?" I mumbled groggily.

"Mr. Ozera found you about ten minutes ago and reported it to me. We've been trying to wake you up." I nodded.

"Rose...what happened?" Christian asked.

"I - I can't tell you," I said.

He hesitated before replying. "Rose...no one's going to think any less of you if you tell us who it was," Despite our sibling like feud, I could still hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I can't...I mean...It's foggy."

"Do you think maybe you were drugged - or compelled - into it?" Dr. Olenski asked.

I shook my head. "It wasn't a Moroi. I don't know what happened." I lied. She paused before extending a hand to me.

"Come on, you need to get the wound cleaned in my office." I nodded slowly and stood up, still dizzy from the blood loss. As we walked out the doors to the courtyard, I found that a number of guardians were guarding the door, holding back the girls that wanted into get into the dorms.

The group gasped when they saw my condition and then started whispering. _Bloodwhore_.

I immediately threw my head down and tried to cover the bite mark with some of my hair, but not before I caught Dimitri's face. His eyes were warm and brown and his skin was tan and toned. The real Dimitri no doubt. Anger and disappointment was written all over his face, as he too believed that I was what the rumors said. I caught his eyes as I walked and held it, telling him I was sorry.

Sorry that I was truly afraid.

I was released from the medical a few hours later. The second I walk out the doors I heard the rumors circulating.

_"I heard that she let that Ivashkov guy drink from her,"_

_"I heard that she was raped,"_

_"Really? I heard that she was raped but she liked it."_

_"Maybe Castile?"_

_"He isn't a Moroi you moron,"_

_"Oh, right."_

_"Well, I think she did it willingly for the attention."_

_"Nah, her rep is too important to her,"_

The conversation shut off the second I turned around the corner and they saw me. They turned their heads in the opposite direction and pretended to text someone.

As I walked off, I couldn't help but think that they were right, or sort of. I could've been that person. If it hadn't been for Dimitri_ I would've_ been that person - that drunken party-girl bloodwhore that didn't have a care in a world. And now, here I was pushing him away. But now, I couldn't help but feel like I was in too deep into the game to pull myself out, to get help. At this point, would Dimitri believe me? Would he believe that I was seeing his double? Or that the ghosts wanted war?

Why did I keep question myself? I knew that Dimitri would be there for me - always. But now...he thought I was a bloodwhore.

I needed air. These walls were too cramped. I ran for the nearest exit and ended up outside of the woods surrounding the wrought iron gate of the Academy.

At this hour, the moon was high in the sky above, creating a soft yellowish-white glow. There was a slights breeze in the air which moved casually through the branches of the surrounding trees. The crickets and frogs, among other small creatures, could be heard for miles. That made for the most peaceful soundtrack. Slowly, I made my way down the path, taking everything in.

As I strode down the dirt path, that eerie feeling began to settle at the pit of my stomach. I felt a slight pressure against my spine as I realized that, besides the usual animals around me, I was not alone on this pathway. I stopped and listened, standing stark still. I felt, that, knew that, whoever or whatever was in the woods with me, was somewhere behind me.

I turned and started to walk further in, ignoring the feeling that I was being followed.

Then I heard footsteps.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

I whipped around to find who was following me. There I saw nothing but the darkness on the pathway. Puzzled, I turned back around and began to walk again. The chills, however, did not leave my spine, nor did the hairs on the back of my neck go down again. I still had a feeling that I was being followed.

Then, the world spun for a only a moment, but it was long enough for me to trip on my feet and fall flat to the ground.

Slowly, as the ground became straight again, words starting floating through the air. Singing.

It was magical, angelic even. It was passionate and soft. I lifted my head only an inch.

There she was. I didn't know how I knew it was her, but I felt that odd connection. We were the same.

Anna.

_○Little children_

_ Don't close your eyes_

_ For if you do_

_ You're in for a surprise_

_ Little children_

_ You want to go to bed_

_ But little children I'm afraid_

_ You can't because you're dead○_

The lyrics that she sang haunted me. _You can't because your dead_. I gasped as I sat up and pushed myself back away from her. A vixenous smile appeared on her face.

"Hello Rose,"

"Your Anna..." I whispered. She nodded.

"I am. And I'm here to tell you about the hell that's been destroying you."

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**Sorry it's been a while since an update. I've been like, super sick. All better now! Now, off to my choir concert.**

**And, and here's a hint. If you wanna know who '_Dimitri_' is, go back to the last chapter and read what he tells Rose about '_what she said_' and then go back to chapter 9 and read Adelina's part. You should get it. If not, all will be revealed soon :) Review with your guesses!  
><strong>

**Elisabeth xxxx  
><strong>


	12. When History Repeats

**Where History Repeats**

"It all began in the late 1500s," Anna began. "It was summer and St. Vladamir's had just been founded by Vladamir. We were close, best friends, and we had just graduated from a human high school since there weren't many Moroi schools opened yet. About a month after the opening, Moroi started to enroll for the fall. But, there were also the Moroi who thought we needed to stay hidden for our existence. They didn't like the thought of being out in the opened, exposed to humans although most had grown up with them. There were riots surrounding the school. I unfortunately got caught in one. I was trampled and beaten by the Royals who wanted secrecy. They didn't like the thought of a Dhampir running a school were we could use our magic. Afterwards, they left me there bleeding." She paused. "Adelina...I can hear you."

I heard her too. The rustling in the bushes, the silent footsteps. And sure enough, Adelina revealed herself from the bushes.

Anna continued without acknowledging her presence. I, on the other hand, was torn between which ghost to listen to.

"Vladamir found long after I was dead. Of course, we didn't knew much about spirit back then. We knew it was an element, but we weren't aware that it could actually be harnessed by Moroi. When he touched my body, the magic flowed from him into my, therefore allowing me to cross from the Land of Shadows back into this world. I could pass from each world, allowing me to open myself to the dead...or as you know, seeing the ghosts. Vladamir wasn't sure what he had done, only that I was somehow alive again."

"You were Shadow Kissed." I stated obviously. She nodded.

"We kept it quiet, but we did tell everyone about spirit. They were very hesitant about believing us, so we had Vladamir bring back a dead bird. That was when I felt his magic. The darkness. It flowed from him into me. I took it and held it until it was dispatched from him. I didn't tell him that I was stealing the insanity, but after the year was over and the first class had graduated...he started to notice the difference between the old me and the present. We hadn't talked in a while, as he'd been busy maintaining the school, but we were still friends. I told him that I was fine."

"You weren't, were you?"

"No. Two months later..." She paused and closed her eyes as if trying to push away the memory. "Two months later, I slit my wrists in a storage building on the out skirts of campus." And when I looked down, sure enough there were two lines across each of her wrist, scared over.

"It won't happen to you Rose. You're stronger than I was."

I swallowed and nodded. "Want about the ghosts? What do they want?"

"And that's the other half of the story. Adelina? I'm sure you know it better then I do,"

Adelina smiled and stepped forward.

"And about 400 years later, in 1867, the Strigoi attack on the academy. You see Rose, after Thomas found me we left North Carolina without so much as a goodbye to our families. I had to get away from all the people who'd been lying to me for the good part of my life. We retreated here, to St. Vladamir's so I could fully grasp what being a vampire meant. I learn that I specialized in water. I learn how to control my powers and how to feed on humans without killing them. It was such a journey for me. Now, keep in mind that this is the _very_ vague version of the story. So much more happened. So many details. But basically, about 2 weeks after I enrolled at the school, the Strigoi build big enough of an army to take us out. They got a human to break the wards and they attacked. Most of the Guardian's were taken out instantly, not prepared for the attack. Most of us that were still alive in the first minute ran. I went for the back door of the academy which ironically led to the front gates. I thought that the Strigoi would have come through the woods and not such an obviously place. I was right for the most part,"

"Who was there?" I asked.

"James. He stepped out behind the gates and told me, "Did you really think you could hide for long?" and he stabbed me with the same knife he threaten me with before." She stopped to look down at the weapon in her side. "And that's that. I mean, there was this thing with Will showing up and being a Spirit user, but that's a minor detail."

"Woah..." I breathed speechless. It wasn't much of a story, but that fact that it had still happened...

"And now...what's happening?"

"When the Strigoi attacked a few weeks ago, it woke the spirits of the Moroi that had died here. They're jealous that their guardians weren't strong enough to protect them as yours were. They want revenge."

"And why am I their target?"

"Because you're the only one they can communicate with. They want you as their leader so that way they you could act as a translator of a sort, telling the Guardians what the spirits want them to know. But first, they have to get you to want to be on their side. That's why they're trying to get your friends to turn against you. They want you to have nothing to hang onto." Anna finished.

"So Dimitri...it's not really him? It's really his doppelganger?"

Anna cracked a smile. "Your lover doesn't have a doppelganger, but your right in a sense. It's like Adelina here. A spirit has taken the form of him to make you turn against him." I breathed out.

"So it's not real?"

"It's not real."

"So we never actually broke up?" I glanced up at her hopefully. Her smile faded.

"Unfortunately, that was actually him..."

My heart sunk. "What do I do now?" I asked her.

"There's a tomb in Malta It's where Vladamir was buried after he died-"

"How did Vladamir die?" I asked, cutting her off.

"He got a rare cancer which tends to only effect Moroi." I nodded. "Anyways, he was buried with a bloodstone tied around his neck. Bloodstone was a talisman used for warding off diseases and illness. They thought it might heal his cancer in the afterlife. Bloodstone was also used for a lot of other things, one being to ward away unwanted dark presences - your ghosts." She explained.

"So you want me to go into _his grave_ and steal a stone to stop the ghosts from being able to talk to me?" I asked wide eyed.

"It won't just keep them from talking to you. You won't be able to see them or hear them or touch them." Adelina added.

"But...then I won't be able to see you."

"Dark presences Rose. We're on your side. You should be able to see us."

Should I really go? I mean, going off campus without guardian supervision could get me expelled for real this time. And how was I even suppose to get to Malta? Not only that, but this was _Vladamir_. He was a legend and here I was going to destroy his grave, where he was suppose to be resting in piece. Of course, nobody knew what he was experiencing after death, but still; it seemed rude. But I needed to get that bloodstone. I didn't want to be continuously haunted until we could find a solution.

"Please Rose. I don't want this war anymore than you do." Anna begged.

"If your their leader, why don't they listen to you?" I asked confused.

With a sigh, she said, "After a century and a half, Rose, whose in charge doesn't matter anymore. Eventually, people want a new ruler, rather that person is dead or alive."

So after a seconds more of hesitation, I answered.

* * *

><p>Malta was a small Island off the coast of Italy. It's the smallest and most dense populated island in the world and they speak a language mixed with Greek, Italian, and English called Maltese. I couldn't speak any of those languages, except English of course, so I definitely couldn't mix it.<p>

Vladamir's tomb was located in the capital, Valletta. With a small population of 6,000 people, the city's made of buildings that were mostly built sometime in the 16th century.

I only knew one way I was going to get to Malta without the guardian's knowing.

Of course, when I asked Adrian to buy me a plain ticket, he insisted that he wasn't going to let me go alone. He didn't question why I needed to go or why I needed to go right then. He trusted me enough to know that I wouldn't do it if it wasn't important - and that's why Anna had better not had been lying about where the tomb was.

It was about 8pm when we left. Adrian told Alberta that we were going off campus to visit his uncles in Helena, which was about a six hour drive, so we would spend the night there and be back the next day. If I was correct, the plain ride would be about 9 hours and we would spend about 2 hours there, and then another 9 hours back, plus time zone. If all went well, they should never even know we left the country.

Apparently, the tomb where Vladamir was buried was also in the middle of a tiny graveyard filled with the bodies of the original Royal council. Back in our history classes, no teachers had ever mentioned where Vladamir was buried, only that his body was preserved and locked away. I was assuming they didn't want any students breaking into the graves and stealing objects the people were buried with. But if we didn't learn about it, chances are that they didn't learn about it either. Maybe they didn't know where he was buried.

I didn't tell anyone else we were leaving except Lissa, who still seemed upset about the whole incident in the cafeteria. Of course, I didn't tell her where we were going.

The plane ride was full of laughter and wit. God, I'd forgotten just how fun it was to hang out with Adrian without him pressuring me to make out with him.

The next few hours were reasonable. I was very much awake and allowed myself to watch a few movies that the plane was playing - something about a cat who could control human life or something - as Adrian himself drowned himself in the free flow of orange juice and beer at the speed of light. After a while, the lights were switched off so that we could sleep and get our bodies accustomed to the change of time zones. I was forced to put my book down and attempt to sleep, since Adrian was already snoring loudly.

Sighing, I turned down my music and closed my eyes, all ready to drift into the land of unicorns and double rainbows until a baby screamed. That set off another one and the babies were chorusing together as they cried out for whatever shit they wanted. Ignoring them, I pulled out my folded-in tray attached to the seat in front and placed my pillow on it. Laying my head down, this position felt much more comfortable than the last, and I felt my eyelids slowly weighing down.

Then the person in front decided that he needed to incline his bloody chair and unpleasantly compressed my head.

Swallowing my irritation, I readjusted myself and curled up on my side, hugging my pillow and letting my legs splay onto the table. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but it would have to do. One of the babies had stopped crying, thank god, but the last one was bawling a holy hell loud enough for forty little devils.

But luckily, the next thing I knew I was awake from a jolt in the plane. It was barely dawn and the plane was landing.

Adrian woke next to me. "So where exactly are we going here?" He asked, yawning.

"A graveyard." I answered.

* * *

><p>We still had about an hour before the sun would be coming up when we arrived at the site.<p>

The dark iron gate hung grimly by its rusty squealing hinges; dark trees cast empty scary ghostly shadows over the dark deserted cemetery - the silence was deafening and tension hung in the air thickly. The lamp post light dimly lit the glistening wet grass, flickering unnaturally.

The ivy covered gravestones were too broken and disturbed to make out any inscription.

The glare of an crow's eye bright sitting in a tall tree orange gave off a creepy contrast against the deep midnight black of the tree.

The deafening silence was pierced suddenly and without warning by the deathly shriek of the crow. Again, it shrieks, and again. Like the screaming of a child or the roaring of some terrible beast, the presence of neither would seem strange in this place. The unending fog hung on the stones of the dead like a heavy, suffocating sheath, casting a relentless misery on all who trespass through it.

The moonlight casts its eerie shadow on the path that lie ahead, it seems to beckon with a ghostly glow that none can resist. Pulling, pushing, dragging, each victim further through the mist, each one silenced by the beauty, terrified by the power.

Ok - so, maybe that's a bit too in dept, but it was still the creepiest graveyard I'd ever seen.

And then, sitting off to the side of the cemetery was a small stone mausoleum. It was completely gray and worn at the corners. The roof was encrusted with dents and cracks and Celtic-looking writing was carved onto the sides. The door was also stone, but in front of it was a wrought iron gate that had heavy chained wrapped around it at the lock.

I turned to Adrian when he spoke. "And what exactly do we need here?"

"We're looking for a grave."

"And what's the name?"

I hesitated. What could it hurt? "Um, Vladamir,"

Adrian choked.

"_Vladamir?_ As in, vampire dude that St. Vladamir's is named after?" He asked incredulously. I nodded. "Alright then," We started checking graves, but at the same time, I couldn't take my eyes off of the mausoleum. I called Adrian over as I approached the crypt.

"Yea?"

"Do you know what this says?" I asked, pointing to the writing on the stone door through the gate.

"Well, it's a runic language, which is sort of like a Witch language. It's used in paganism and witchcraft. Do you have your phone?"

I grabbed my iPhone out of the back pocket of my jeans and tossed it to him. He tapped on the screen a few times before typing something. "See, here. We just have to put the letters together." Wikipedia was opened on the screen and a picture of runic letters were shown.

From what I could make out, there were 4 actual letters: Something that looked like an F with the lines pointing down, a T with the line slanted, another T, and then another F.

In the end...It spelled Anna.

I froze and looked at Adrian.

"Yea, this seems like our best bet."

"Rose, we can't just go in there. It's locked, plus people come here. They'll notice that someone got in."

"We don't have time to worry about that Adrian. The sun's going to come up soon." I kicked at the chain a few times until it busted apart sending the lock in 5 different directions. I pushed through the gate with Adrian hesitantly on my tail. I grabbed at the edge of the stone door and pull. It made a crusting dirt sound as the stone scraped against the concrete ground.

Inside it was dark. A few steps down led to an empty room with stone walls and Celtic designs. There was a ledge where candles could be lit and dead plants hung from the ceiling. And sitting the center was a large tomb. It looked to be the size of a two person bed. It was plain. No decorations were on it, and if there had been, they wore off. I mean, it had been almost 600 years.

Our footsteps echoed loudly as we walked towards the tomb.

I sighed deeply, and not giving myself a chance to hesitate, I put my hands on the edge of the lid and lifted.

_And damn_, that thing was heavy.

"Give me a hand, will you?" I asked Adrian.

"I'm not really sure I want to see a person whose been dead for half a Millennium. Can't I just...stay over here?" I gave him an are-you-seriously-a-wimp look and he fell for it. With his help, I moved the lid to the corner of the tomb without it falling.

And there he sat.

Vladamir.

It was just a skeleton now. There was a bit of flesh still connected to the bone, but I'm sure If I touched it it would crumble into dirt.

Around his neck sat the bloodstone. It was a dark green, almost black, stone with spots of red. I reached out to grab it but Adrian's hand stopped me.

"Your taking it? You can't steal from a dead person Rose!"

"Since when has anything stopped you from stealing? Besides, this is important!" I wiped his hand away and grabbed the necklace.

What didn't surprise me was the shock when I touched the gem. What surprised me was when Vladamir's hand shot up and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the tomb and locking the lid over me.

As my head hit the hard stone, the last thing I smelt was decaying bone.

* * *

><p><strong>Review!<strong>

**Please excuse my own made-up history of St. Vlad's. When the official VA guide comes out in December, I'll revise this chapter to get the facts straight!  
><strong>

**It's been what, 14 days since my last update? SORRY! I haven't had much motivation since I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter. Again, super sorry!**

**Oh...and I've been super obsessed with finishing the 2nd season of Glee :)  
><strong>

**Elisabeth xxxx  
><strong>


	13. Origins

**Origins  
><strong>

Specks of dirt and dust filled my lungs as I gasped. I coughed it back up, spitting out the crusty earth. The air was chilled and bit at my skin, making me shudder involuntarily.

I groaned adjusting my body so I could sit up. Even though I was definitely awake, my eyes refused to open. Or maybe they were open, it was just so dark it felt as if they were closed; I didn't know. I felt my hand along the cold stone above my head, confirming that I was in the tomb.

Which also meant that there was a dead body right next to me.

I jerked as I suddenly stopped moving in fright. How had I gotten into the tomb in the first place? Was I hallucinating and just tripped, or had Vladamir actually pulled me in? It won't be the weirdest thing that's happened lately, but this wasn't a ghost, it was a _skeleton_. Which was currently right next to me. To stop myself from freaking out, I put my hands back on the lid cautiously and pushed.

It was heavy.

I felt the stone wobble under the pressure from my hand, but it didn't budge an inch.

In the moment, I would've called out for Adrian, but I had no idea if he was still here, or if he'd gone to get help, or if he'd even hear me through the solid stone.

_Oh Anna, what have you gotten me into? _I though.

My eyes released themselves from their being shut. I blinked a few times, and when I opened my eyes again, there was light.

* * *

><p>Well, not light exactly, but a glow which seemed to surround every object; every piece of dust, every rock, every body.<p>

I jumped when I turned my head and looked at Vladamir's skeleton. Ivory chips filled his teeth where they weren't decaying, glossy and dome like. It grinned maniacally from it's captivity in the ivy soaked box. Bleached by countless worms for unknown decades, it held it's brace of death, fingers scrawning the dark.

I gulped loudly as sat up as far as I could against the wall of the tomb without hitting my head on the lid. My hand brushed over Vladamir's for a quick second and my vision blurred. Colors filled the air around me, clouding my sight. The pounding in the head increased from when I hit my head on the stone. A coppery taste filled my mouth.

I clenched my eyes shut, hoping it would pass.

* * *

><p><em>When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in the tomb anymore. I was standing in a large field, scattered with trees. Behind me, the grass trailed off becoming only dirt as the trees increased and the field became a forest. Beyond on the trees I could see a dark building. Black bricks covered a gothic<em> _mansion with low towers and peaks and stone carvings, resembling a university with an iron gate and overgrown ivy on the walls._

_I approached the building walking out of the trees. A pathway led up to the door from the gate. I crossed onto the walkway, cutting across the dark grass._

_The door was off it's hinges and hanging gloomily onto it's side. I hesitated and pushed the door down. It collapsed with a bang.  
><em>

_The markings of violence were etched into the cold marble of the floor. The sounds of my footsteps echoed against the red walls, shattering the omnipresent silence. As I walked forward, I could smell the fear that'd been haunting the inhabitants of the castle as I noticed the drops of blood staining some of the ancient paintings. My heart raced dangerously from the eerie setting as I neared the spiraling staircase. It seemed to go on forever before being swallowed by darkness. For a moment I stopped to admire its height. If the arched ceilings weren't so high the staircase would've, inevitably, been less intriguing to regard._

_This...was Saint Vladimir's Academy - in 1868. The Moroi had been living here long before Christopher Columbus discovered America. They must have been in hiding like Anna had told me before Vladamir founded the academy.  
><em>

_A glass door, splattered with bloody hand prints, sat in the middle of the hall, leading to a courtyard. I slowly pushed it opened revealing the sun. It was bright and set a more subtle feeling then the darkness inside._

_"Hello Miss Hathaway," A voice said, which sounded oddly like Stan's. I turned around to find a young man, maybe 25 or so, leaning against a bench underneath a willow tree. His hair was so black it looked dyed. It was short and sleeked back away from his forehead, showing off his eyes; a deep brown._

_A long black coat made of a heavy leather was draped around his body, covering what looked to be a brown shirt and white pants._

_"Who are you?" I asked curiously. My voice came out like an echo, so much that it didn't seemed like my voice, like I was the one talking. In fact, I'm not even sure I opened my mouth._

_"My name is Vladimir." My eyes widened._

_"Vladimir? As in...?" I trailed off as he nodded. "But I...I mean, you're dead. You died a long time ago." I pointed out._

_"Yes." He said chuckling softly. "And I'm not alive either, but you see, Spirit can do things to do, even after death. I will never truly be dead, as my Spirit travels, always searching for something new to grow to heal. It's my soul." He explained._

_"So, what is this? Where am I?" I asked._

_"This is your subconscious. My mind connected with yours, as you're body was close to mine. You could call it a Spirit dream, I guess,"_

_"And...where_ _is _this_?" I asked, gesturing to our surroundings._

_"This is my academy in 1868. The attack just ended, and this is what remains. The blood and darkness, that's what the Strigoi left for us to fix. Well, them. I'd been dead for a long while before this happened."_

_"I know, Anna told me the story," I said. His face turned grim._

_"Anna?"_

_"Yea, your bond mate?" I reminded._

_"I remember Anna perfectly fine. She never stops haunting me, even after life."_

_"What do you mean? You guys were best friends, up until...you know." I pushed._

_"Yes, but she was always controlled by her insanity. You see, it wasn't the Spirit that pushed her over the edge. When Anna was born, she was diagnosed with a rare disease which triggered her mental illness. Of course, it's rare for Dhampir's to be sick at all so it was surprising when she actually survive a few years. She was never in control of her insanity. It controlled her. When Spirit came it, it just gave her a little push and off the edge she went, taking her life with it. I tried to help, I really did, but we tried multiple cures and nothing worked. We gave up around the time of her death." I gaped at him._

_After a few minutes, I spoke."But Anna said that - "_

_"Anna lied to you," He said, cutting me off. "You cannot trust Anna. She may act like she's in control of her actions, but she's not. She wants that battle just as much as every other spirit that died here, even though she wasn't in it."_

_"But why would she lie to me? Why wouldn't she want me on her side?" I wondered to myself._

_"Because by letting you go, she's drawing you in. She believes that if she pushes you away, you'll just come running back. You two already believe many of the same things. She thinks that if she can get you to listen to the few that you don't, then, you'll see her side of the story, and forget about yours."_

_And it was true. Anna had told me to leave, but I still wanted to talk to her, to here what she had to say. Maybe it was because we _did_ have so much in common. We were both Shadow Kissed, which just opened more doors. How was I suppose to ignore her? And why did she want me to get the necklace from Vladimir, but why? What would it help her if I couldn't see the other ghosts?_

_"Anna wanted me to get a necklace from you. The bloodstone you were buried with. That's why I'm here." I told him._

_"I know," He said. "And take it. Trust me, it will block out Anna too if your wearing it. Her illness tells her she isn't an evil spirit, but she is. Her illness will cause the darkness in her, so it will ward her off. She isn't pure" I nodded._

_"Thank you," I said._

_"And remember. Do not trust her under any circumstance, no matter how convincing she is."_

* * *

><p><em>Don't Trust Anna<em>.

They were the first words I thought when I woke up. I couldn't remember where I had heard them, but I knew they were important.

_Take It. You Need It._

And the second words I thought. Something about the bloodstone was important, but my mind was foggy and I couldn't remember at the moment.

Light flooded the tomb and I coughed, inhaling clean air. Relief flooded my chest as I made out a figure in front of my eyes, just a silhouette against the harsh light. My eyes squinted, not used to the light. I felt hands wrapped around my arms pulling up, lifting my body. I moaned as my muscles clenched and my feet landed on the ground. I stumbled forward and was quickly caught and set back on my feet.

I gasped as I opened my eyes. Dimitri's face was just inches from mine. I stumbled back again, this time falling to my knees.

It all rushed back to me. The dream - or whatever that was -, the warning, the bloodstone. Had it been real? Had Vladimir really talked to me, his spirit? Or had it just been some whack hallucination from hitting my head too hard?

"Rose, Roza, look at me," I heard Dimitri say calming. He was kneeling next to me and his hand was on my chin, pulling my head up to meet his eyes. His eyes searched my face, probably for damage or blood - which I'm sure there was plenty of both. He stood back up and averted his eyes across the room.

"And how long has she been in there?" He asked.

"Almost a whole day. The lid was glued shut, I swear. I tried to get it opened, but...I'm not sure why it opened just like that a few seconds ago." It was Adrian. I turned my head. He was leaning in the corner where the same thing as from the last time I saw him, a black designer jacket and jeans.

Wait - did he say a whole day?

I'd only been in there for a few minutes at the most, or at least it seemed that way. But then, Dimitri was here, so-

"Did you get her out? Oh Rose, thank god your alright!" A strong pair of arms wrapped around my body.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get you out of Vladimir's tomb! We'll talk about this later, but I'm so glad your alright," She said, hugging my tighter.

"What happened? After I, um, fell in?" I asked Adrian a minute later.

"We can discussed that later, but right now we should a jet back to the academy." A new voice entered the hallow room. Alberta. "We'll also talk about why you lied to us and why you're here, just so your prepared." I gulped.

"Let's go," I heard Dimitri say. "Can you walk?" And prove I could, I stood up and walk up to Adrian, pulling the cigerette out of his mouth and stomping on it.

"Yes," I answered. We all walked to the door, but at the last second, I remembered the bloodstone. I stopped and ran back to the tomb, where the lid was just about to be closed by a few other guardians.

"Wait!" I leaned in, ignoring the reeking death, and grabbed the bloodstone from his neck, pulling it free of the chain. I felt a shock roll through me when I touched it.

"Rose! You can't take just take something!" My mother scolded and reached for the stone. I stepped back, but Adrian grabbed her wrist before it could grabbed the stone.

"I think Rose has a good explanation if she lied to us all and flew out here just for that. Let her keep it."

The plane ride was silent.

"Are you mad at me?" I quietly asked Adrian who was sitting next to me.

He sighed and look over at me. "No. I'm not. But I spent the past 24 hours worrying if you were still alive in that tomb or not. I knew you didn't want me calling the guardians, but at that point I had no choice. I just want an explanation." He said plainly, almost like he didn't care.

Now the real question. What was the bloodstone going to really do if Anna wanted me to have it?

* * *

><p>Kirova stared at me. I stared at her. The bloodstone sat on her desk and Adrian sat next to me. Dimitri, Alberta, Celeste, Stan, and my mom stood around the room, staring at us. Nobody said a word.<p>

"Let's start with this. Why did you lie to Guardian Petrov about where you were going?" She asked calmly.

"Because I knew you would have never let me go if I had told you the truth." I replied.

"And why was it so important that you got there? Why did you need to go?" Alberta pitched in.

"Because I needed that stone."

"Why?" I stayed silent.

Kirova pierced her lips, looking annoying. "How did you know where Vladimir was buried?"

"A little bird told me," I said smiling. She gave me that looked. You know, the 'I'm pissed at you and I don't have the patience for more of your games' look. Yeah, that one.

I hesitated. I knew the truth was going to come out sooner or later. I guess I was expecting later rather than sooner, but maybe it was time. Maybe they could help. Well, I highly doubted it, but maybe. "Fine. A little ghost told me," Their jaws went slack. In the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri's head jerk up.

Kirova's jaw tightened regaining her control. "Which ghost?" Damn, lady, did you really need to know every little detail? What was this - 20 questions Criminal style?

"Anna. Shadow Kissed Anna."

"As in St. Vladimir's bond mate?" Stan asked disbelievingly.

"The one and only," I said.

"But that was over 500 years ago, Rosemarie. You can't possibly expect us to believe you've had contact with her," I snickered at her comment. She was making it sound like they were aliens or something.

"Well that's the truth. If you don't believe me, then that's your problem."

I heard Adrian clear his throat next to me, reminding me that he was here. "If I may, Kirova, if Rose isn't telling you something it's probably because she has a good reason to. Hasn't Rose always been outgoing and not afraid to tell you when she messed something up? If she's not telling you now, then give it time. The truth always comes out eventually when you don't want it to." Now I was confused. Was he on my side or hers? I threw him a What-The-Hell glance and looked back at Kirova.

She stared at me for a moment more. "We'll continue this later. I have a meeting to go to. Rosemarie, you are to stay in your dorm at all time except for classes and training until further notice."

I gaped at her. "_More _house arrest?" Nobody answered me as they kicked me out of her office. "Wait! I need the stone!" I called out, banging on Kirova's door.

"Damn it!" I shouted, kicking the wall, which hurt a little more then it should have. "Ow!" I leaned against the wall and pushed the hair out of my face. Now what? I went all the way to hell - aka, Italy - and back, just have the one thing I needed ripped out of my hands. Footsteps echoed down the hall.

"I'm suppose to escort you back to your dorm," Dimitri called as he approached me. _Escort_? Who uses that word anymore?

"Of course _Guardian Belikov_, wouldn't want me to go run off and do something stupid again, would we?"

He sighed. "Rose, we just want to know what the stone does."

"It's called a bloodstone. Do your own research. And besides, shouldn't it be enough that I don't have it anymore? It shouldn't bother you now that you can just throw it away." I remarked.

"We would never just throw something away that was that old. Besides, it might be able to tell exactly when the academy was founded if we can find out how old it is." He explained.

"1587. That's when the academy was founded." I mentally kicked myself for telling him that.

"_What?"_

"Nothing." I said, pushing the thought away.

"Rose, that's serious. If you know anything about the academy that we don't, then you need to tell us, no matter how you know it." He blurted.

"If I told you that me and Vladimir had a serious conversation, or that I was being haunted by ghosts from and hundred and fifty years ago, or that I have a ghost friend that's been telling me her life story, would you give me the stone? I don't think so. Until you start to believe what comes out of my mouth, I don't need to tell you anything!" I shouted, stopping in the middle of the girl's dorm, definitely attracting some attention. He stared at me for a minute before stepping closer to me.

"I am your mentor Rose. You answer _to me_. What is going on?" I glared up at him.

"We're not together anymore," I whispered. "I don't answer to anybody." I pushed past him and didn't look back.

* * *

><p><strong>Review! <strong>This chapter wasn't proofread!

**So I guess the whole Kirova thing was a bit too dramatic, but I know that if I try to change it I'll just make it worse.  
><strong>

**Thanks so much for all the love and support for this story guys! And, a special thanks to 'XxDeadlyBlackRosexX' for reviewing on every chapter and being so energetic about it x  
><strong>

**Elisabeth xx  
><strong>


	14. Rumour Has It

_A:N:/ So yea, this is the shortest chapter yet, but I needed a bridge from the beginning to the middle. And yes, this is the start of the middle, aka, the interesting part of the story :)_

**Rumor Has It  
><strong>

My head was pounding. I had spent the past 4 hours banging my forehead against my door, hoping to forget how screwed up my life is. Luckily, I had avoided any visits from Anna or Adelina in the past couple of days, but that wouldn't last for long if I had to continue to reside in my dorm for the rest of eternity.

It'd been 3 days since my house arrest from Kirova and she had still yet to send me to her office to discuss a different form of punishment. I'd survived training without any questions from Dimitri, and I hadn't been able to talk to any of my friends since I was now assigned to eat lunch in my dorm and after that was more house arrest. Until I was able to get into her office, I couldn't get the stone, and I needed it.

I had no choice. I was going to break into Kirova's office and very well hope that I didn't get caught.

Although it sounds cliche, I needed to blend in with the night, therefore, I put on a tight black tank top and jacket, and then black skinny jeans, fitting to my body perfectly.

I smiled when I thought that I looked totally ninja.

Right. At 3:24am I opened my window and observed the guardian who was lingering below the 2 story floor. I knew exactly how to deal with this type of situation. You simply picked up a heavy and non-valuable item and tossed it out the window to the left, hoping that it lands around the corner of the brick building. Fortunately, when I threw the history book out the window, it caught the guardian's attention and he went to investigate. I leaped out the window and made a break for it, quickly and silently running for the other side of campus where the office was located.

I quickly jumped up on the ledge of the window seal on the side on Kirova's office. I took to key that I had stolen off of her desk stuck it into the medal. The lock clicked open and I pulled the window up, hoping inside. Her office was dark and it was hard to make out what was what, but I could tell that the stone was no longer on her desk. I through open the desk drawers, and when I found nothing there, I search the cabinets on the wall. Again, nothing.

I ran my fingers through my hair and took another step, searching in one of the heavy bags leaning against the door. When my hand touched something cold, I grabbed the object and pulled it out. The bloodstone. Unlike when I touched the stone in the tomb with Vladimir, this time nothing happened. No rush, no shock. I was about to turn to leave, which would have been a smart decision, but my eye caught on something else in the bag.

It was my file. I lent back down and pulled it out of the bag.

It was a _huge_ file. Papers were overflowing out of it. Had I really done that much since kindergarten?

The entire first page was a list of every violation of school property I'd made, which then carried on to the next page, but really what made me attentive was the last page. The entire page was about why or what I wanted the bloodstone for. I guess they really had been doing their research.

**_Bloodstone Gemstone meaning_**

_Bloodstone (also called heliotrope) is green with distinctive red spots that resemble blood, giving this stone its name. The bloodstone was used to stop bleeding especially nosebleeds._

_There is a legend that says the bloodstone was formed from the blood of Christ dripping on the green earth and solidifying. It was also called heliotrope by the Greeks and was thought to bring change. The bloodstone has been used as an amulet to protect against the evil eye. Bloodstone is the symbol of justice._

**_Healing properties of bloodstone_**

_The bloodstone is used for circulation of all energy in the body and helps to remove energy blocks. Bloodstone is used in the alignment of all the centers of the body. A healer must do this alignment while the patient lies on his stomach. It also aids in the circulation of blood. It is good to have several pieces of Bloodstone in the home to increase the flow of life energy._

**_Sources of bloodstone_**

_Locations where bloodstone can be found include India, Brazil, China, Australia, and the United States._

_**Reasons**_

_Guardian Dimitri Belikov has recently reported that she admitted into seeing 'ghosts' again. On March 23rd this was confirmed in Headmistress' office when she admitted to "A little ghost told me". Hathaway has also been experiencing mental lapses, such as in the cafeteria during a hard thunder storm and the electricity shut off, or saying that it was "raining blood" and the walls were closing in, windows mysteriously breaking, and reported screaming from her dorm room (342 second floor) during the night. With more further research, it has been found that bloodstone is a type of insulter against evil spirits._

_"Helps ward off danger and clears one's path of pitfalls. Protector against evil. Self-love stone. Vibrates calming radiations, protective, and restores healthy mental attitude. Stone of friendship. Balancing and healing. Great strength and vitality. Takes on characteristics of the wearer. It is unwise to wear bloodstone formerly worn by one who has died. excellent for both Spiritual atonement and healing of the energy centers and the physical body, valuable for grounding as well as for vision quests and astral travel , purifies all levels of being and is capable of handling strong negativity, also used for wounds and for damage to bones." From metaphysical stones in North Carolina._

_The bloodstone was retrieved from St. Vladimir's tomb in Malta, Italy. As of now, that is all the information that has been viewed.  
><em>

Was it actually bad to wear bloodstone if it was worn by someone who died? Vladimir was dead. Why would he have wanted me to wear something that would just get me worse luck then I already had? But then, it didn't protect from the ghosts...

A light clicked outside of the office and my head shot up. I closed the file and shoved it back into the bag without care. I rushed over to the window and pulled myself up, throwing my body over the ledge, not having the time to check for Guardians outside. The last thing I heard as the window snapped shut was the sound of hushed whispers...

* * *

><p>When I through myself down on my bed, I realized I only had about an hour before I would have to get up for training - oh wait, tomorrow was saturday. No training. I smiled to myself as I threw the covers over my head and settled into the first quiet night in a month.<p>

* * *

><p>Of course, that was sort lived. The second I woke up I was pulled directly into Lissa's head. Worry and anticipation streamed through her emotions. It was already breakfast and, I, of course, hadn't woken up early enough to get my breakfast from the cafeteria. So now, due to my damned house arrest, I would have to wait for the cafeteria to clear out to go down and eat.<p>

"I'm worried about Rose," Lissa said. Eddie and Christian were the only ones at the table with her.

"She's fine Babe. I'm sure her jailers will release her soon and we can just forget it ever happened." Christian told her.

"It's not that! I mean, usually she'd been sneaking out at night (_I have done that_), or at least pulling pranks on the guardian's outside her window _(I have done that)._ I haven't heard a word out of her in classes, where she's usually loud mouthed and sarcastic. And she _went to ITALY_! And without telling me too! Plus, her outburst at lunch last week, and how when the lights went out she acted like a crazy person! She's so closed up and secretive these days. She won't talk to me anymore," She ended with a whisper.

"Lissa," Eddie said. "When hasn't Rose been a little secretive, and mental at that. I'm sure she's fine. When the headmistress relieves her of the house arrest, I'm sure she'll come talk to you. She did just meet her dad too. Maybe she's just stressed with everything going on." He said.

Lissa looked doubtful. "Yea, whatever." She stood up and threw her tray away, walking out.

I knew I should get out of there, but curiosity made me hang on. A young girl, probably a junior or sophomore approached Lissa. She had dark hair like mine, but it was thicker and most definitely rougher compared to mine being silky. Actually, being in the light you could tell that it was actually a raven black. Her eyes were deep grey and she had full pink lips. She was only a tad shorter then Lissa.

"Are you Vasilisa?" She asked.

Lissa looked shocked, as most people around the school knew her name, but she'd never actually seen this girl before.

"Yes,"

"Do you know Rosemarie - oh." Her eyes met Lissa's and she smiled. Then, I was suddenly _pushed_ from her head and landed silently back on my bed. My breathing was quick and shallow. I was swallowed in my own sweat.

Had this girl actually kicked me out of Lissa's head?

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews make me smile :)<strong>

So Avery's going to play a different role in this fanfic. She won't necessarily be evil or good, but she will cause some drama. :) Plus...uh, she's not exactly alive...

Would it be totally unprofessional to add a lemon that doesn't actually have a lemon? Wow, that was the biggest .:hint:. ever...

**Elisabeth xx  
><strong>


	15. Ignite The Flame

**Ignite The Flame  
><strong>

_The third Strigoi grabbed Dimitri. In all the time I'd known him, I've never seen Dimitri falter. He was always faster, always stronger than everyone else. Not this time. This Strigoi had caught him by surprise, and that slight edge was all it had taken._

_ I stared. It was the blond Strigoi. The one who had spoken to me in the battle. He grabbed Dimitri and pulled him to the ground. They grappled, strength against strength, and then I saw those fangs sink into Dimitri's neck. The red eyes flicked up and made contact with my own._

_ I heard another scream-this time, it was my own. _

_ My mother started to dart back toward the fallen, but then five more Strigoi appeared. It was chaos. I couldn't see Dimitri anymore; I couldn't see what had happened to him. Indecision flashed over my mother's features as she tried to decide to flee or fight, and then, regret all over her face, she kept running towards us and the exit. Meanwhile, I was trying to run _back_ inside, but someone was stopping me. It was Stan._

_ "What are you doing, Rose? More are coming."_

_ Didn't he understand? Dimitri was in there. I had to get to Dimitri._

_ My mother and Alberta burst out, dragging Ms. Carmack. A group of Strigoi were after them, skidding to a halt just on the edge of the waning light. I was still fighting Stan. He didn't need any help, but my mother grasp hold of me and tugged me away._

_ "Rose, we have to get out of here!"_

_ "He's in there!" I screamed, straining as hard as I could. How could I have killed Strigoi and not been able to break free from these two? "Dimitri's in there! We have to go back for him! We can't leave him!"_

_ I was rambling, hysterical, shouting at them all that we had to rescue Dimitri. My mother shook me hard and leaned close so there were only a couple inches between us._

_"He is dead, Rose! We can't go back in there. The sun will be down in fifteen minutes, and they are waiting for us. We're going to be in the dark before we can get back to the wards. We need every second we can get—it still may not be enough."_

_And then I probably made the stupidest decision of my life—I broke out of my captors' grasp and darted for the cave opening. How I managed to get through the wall of eager Strigoi, I don't know. I didn't think, I just ran. Dodging blows and getting a staking in when I could, I ran through the winding tunnels. He was suddenly in front of me, the blond Strigoi, the one who threatened Lissa, the one who was Dimitri's downfall._

_A red haze clouded my vision, and I let all of Lissa's built up darkness consume me. My hand darted out, and my stake was in his heart before he could say another word. A hand came down on my shoulder, and I swung around, anticipating another Strigoi, but what I saw made all of the darkness vanish. Dimitri._

_The left collar of his t-shirt was soaked crimson with his blood. His eyes looked clouded from the endorphins. My hand reached out. I tried to grabbed him, but he dissolved at my fingertips, like a ghost or hologram. Then, the fangs bared down on me, and I experienced my second death over again._

_The pain. _The thousand needles sticking into me. The axes hitting my back. The chains whipping my legs._ The ink staining me._

_"Wake up Roza," I made out a voice through the aching._

_I screamed._

* * *

><p>"Rose! Wake up!" There was a person trashing my shoulders as my eyes shot opened. My scream cut off mid breath and I pulled myself up, breathing quickly. The first thing I thought of was the bloodstone. My hand went for the inside of my pillow where I was storing it. Luckily it was still there.<p>

I lifted my head. Lissa sat there next to Eddie staring at me with concern.

During the past few days, I've had the bloodstone in my possession. There was still no call from Alberta or Kirova on word from my house arrest, so last night Lissa and the gang had snuck in for an overnighter. We played random games and drank multiple glasses of the non-alcoholic drinks Adrian had managed to dig up in his room.

As of now, I'd had no sign from any of the ghosts which I took as a good sign. It meant that the bloodstone was working. But I also hadn't had any nightmares about the Strigoi attacks since the night of the actual attack, much less thought about it. Maybe my subconscious was just going crazy, from the spirit or something, or maybe the 'Do not wear if worn by a deceased person or persons' warning was finally coming into effect. I wasn't sure, and I most definitely wouldn't be doing anything about it right now.

"Rose? Are you alright? You were screaming," Lissa asked kneeling in front of me.

I nodded after a moment. "Yea, I'm Okay. Just a bad dream."

"You're sure? Do you wanna talk about it?" Eddie said.

"No, really I'm fine." I pulled the blankets off and threw my legs over the side of the bed. "Where is everyone?" My room looked like hell had frozen over it. Empty bottles, crumpled up sacks, papers thrown about.

"They already headed down for breakfast. We were going to stay and clean up, then wake you up, but..." Concern washed over her face again.

I even tried to smile to prove I was feeling Ok - lie -, "I'm fine Lis,"

A knock on my door startled her, making her jump.

"Will you get that? I probably look like something died on my head," She laughed and walked over to the door.

Opening it revealed the same girl that supposedly shoved me out of Lissa's head the other day. I stopped brushing my hair immediately when I saw her. She was wearing a grey crop top with cut off shorts. A number of gold bands surrounded her wrists.

"Hey!" She said, referring to Lissa. "Adrian told me you might be here so-" She cut off when she looked over her shoulder and saw me and Eddie. "Oh! Sorry, am I interrupting something?" She apologized.

_Yes._ "No, of course not." Lissa said smiling, always the polite one. "Rose, this is-"

"Avery," The girl said, cutting her off. "Me and Vasilisa met a few days ago. We've been hanging out some and I've just been dying to meet you," She explained, a little too suspicious for me. Her smiled was too fake.

"Hi," I simply. "And she likes to be called Lissa,"

"It's fine Rose. Whatever she feels most comfortable with." Lissa said, defending her new friend.

"You said you know Adrian?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes. I've met all your friends." Stalker. I didn't like this chick one bit.

"Great," I stared at her. Her eyes were captivating and not in the good way.

"Okay!" Eddie said, clapping his hands together and getting off the bed. He probably felt the tension. "Let's go to the cafeteria."

"Yeah. I'll bring you something later Rose." Lissa told me before shutting the door behind them.

* * *

><p>That morning when I headed to classes, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of guardians were staring at me with suspicious glances. Not all of them, but a large majority. I would just smile at them and then they would turn their heads away pretending they hadn't been caught.<p>

As I took my chair in first period, I cranked my head behind me and saw Dimitri. He was staring off into space. His hair was down today, which was rare, and it was hanging down in front of his eyes. And another rare thing, he wasn't wearing a duster, just a tight black shirt and jeans. Now, because there was no duster, you could see his silver stake sitting in the holster hanging just below his waist.

I'd never really taken the time to study a stake. Usually they just looked like stakes...that were silver...

But if you looked close enough, you you easily see that there were small designs and words that not only personalized the stake, but made it easier to see if it was your stake that made a specific kill.

Dimitri's had small Celtic symbols on the handle, and a word. It was small, so I had to squint to see it, but it said _Roza_.

I had to hold in a gasp.

The bell rang and Dimitri's eyes snapped to life, meeting mine. I whipped back around in my seat with a blush on my cheeks.

_Roza._

* * *

><p>The sky was dark now. It was almost 8:30 and a guardian had just come up to my room and told me that I could eat in the cafeteria tonight. I silently cheered and walked down the steps to the courtyard.<p>

"Rose!" I heard a small voice. I turned around. Avery was running towards me, her black hair flopping around.

_Great_, I thought. _Just what I need_.

"Hi, Avery," I greeted when she reached me.

"Are you going to dinner? I thought you were on house arrest?" She asked.

"I guess Kirova and her minions were feeling merciful tonight," I joked.

"Hey," She put a hand on my arm and stopped walking. Her eyes wandered aimlessly around the courtyard. "Do you smell that?"

I concentrated on the air. Nothing. "What are you-?" Then I smelt it. Ashes.

At first the smoke was all that filled my view, then a bright glint of orange. The blazing fire rose high, and the reflections danced on the black bricks lining the school, like a deadly ballet. The heat from the flames could be seen warping around the elementary dorm, eating it alive from the dirt to the core. There would be very little that would remain immune.

I gasped and stumbled backwards.

"Oh god, no. Not now." I heard Avery mumble behind me. Screams could be heard in the distance. How could a fire have been ignited this quickly, and how was it so large already? It had only been seconds.

Guardian's were shouting orders at one another, making quick decisions for search crews and evacuations.

"Come on Rose!" I heard Avery shout. "They want everyone outside the gates. The fire is spreading fast." I swallowed took one last glance at the flames before taking off after her.

This is why St. Vladimir's didn't have fire drills. They required us to go outside the gates since there wasn't many other places we could go. And of course, outside the gates meant Strigoi. Me and Avery were almost outside the gates when a young Moroi boy stopped us.

"Excuse me, are you Rosemarie Hathaway and-" He looked down at the clipboard he was holding. "Avery Lazur?"

"Yes," We both answered. He went back to his paper and checked something off.

"What is that?" I asked. The boy looked up again.

"We're trying to find all the students that haven't been accounted for yet," He answered.

My hand shot out and grabbed the clipboard. "Hey!" He said. My eyes scrolled down the list. Most of the students were out. There were only a few that hadn't been found yet.

_Vasilisa Dragomir_

I gasped and through the paper back at him. As I scanned the crowd, trying to see if they'd missed Lissa, I saw Christian doing the same thing as me. Our eyes met and I could see from the worry in them that he hadn't seen her. Two things could have happened here. One, she was among the Guardians getting taken care of, or two, she was still in the building.

I was going with option two. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to grab on to the little voice in my head that would always belong to Lissa. It was hard because there were so many people around me screaming and crying and talking, but I managed to take it.

When I opened my eyes, I was in Lissa's head. She was standing in her room, completely petrified with fear. Flames were licking the ceiling and peaking out from under her door. _If only I was a fire user_, I heard her think.

I had no time to think. I bounded out of her her and took off, back into the gates, as fast as I could without tripping on the slick grass. I could see that the Guardian's were finally trying to reduce the flames by using the water users. Mia must have been happy.

"Rose!" I heard Avery shout behind me. I didn't care.

Luckily, the fire hadn't reached the courtyard or front entrance yet, so ignoring the blazing heat, I was able to run straight to the girl dorms.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the same inside the dorms. Fire was spreading like hell and I couldn't see anything with the flames dancing on the walls. I coughed when I inhaled a mouth full of smoke. Ducking to the ground, I pushed through a place where a part of the roof had fallen in. The hallway wasn't so bad. Only small areas of fire were on the walls and ground.

When I found Lissa's door, it was completely covered in fire.

I felt so stupid for doing this, but I back up and ran into the door. It was so destroyed already that it collapsed beneath me and crumbled to the ground. I rolled into the room quickly, coughing even more. I barely had time to notice that my jacket sleeve had caught fire. Pain flashed through my arm and I couldn't help but panic.

"Rose!" I heard Lissa scream. I looked up. Lissa was there, at my side trying to get me up.

"No, Lis! Go, I'll catch up!"

"I'm not leaving you here!" She shouted through the roar of the flames.

"I have a way out, I'll be right there! Just go!" She looked hesitant but then glanced at the door, now giving her a path to freedom. She nodded and pushed her way out the door and into the hall.

By now, the complete sleeve had burned off and the flames were scorching into my flesh. It hurt like hell. It was a new feeling since I'd never been burned before. Using my other hand, I tried - very carefully - not to touch the flames glowing on my jacket and peeled down the zipper quickly, tossing it off of me. I'd only been wearing a tank top so the flames had had a direct path to my flesh. My arm was black and purple and blue, and I could hardly stand it hurt so bad. I was about to turn around and run to the door when the roof collapsed over the door.

Oh god.

I stumbled back and looked to the window, which was also covered in flames.

My head spun and I could tell that the smoke and lack of oxygen was starting to get to my lungs. My body pulsed as I fell the ground on my knees. The smoke was blocking my ears now. I could only hear my heart beat and the soft sound of the roaring fire. My vision spun. Everything was blurry.

Dots of red, pink, yellow, green...

I felt the fire whisper over my legs, sending the burning sensation up my spin. I shivered...

And everything turned grey.

* * *

><p>So, I'm thinking at least 5 reviews at least before I update next. The amount of reviews keeps getting smaller and smaller for every chapter, and I really want to make it to at least a 200 before this story is over. I'm guessing 20-30 chapters? What do you think, can we make it?<strong><br>**

**Elisabeth xx  
><strong>


	16. I Am Zombie

**I Am Zombie**

_As the world flashed in front of my eyes, I saw the world in a new perspective. Black instead white; cold instead of hot; sounds instead of sights, all new things and yet things I've known forever. I was floating above myself, watching my own body burn into ashes, watching my own blood boil into steam. I saw myself scream and writhe on the ground, trying to escape the flames._

_"Can you see me?" Avery's voice rang. I stood and looked up. Avery was actually standing in the fire, watching me curiously. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I nodded instead._

_She smiled. "Good."__ She whispered._

My eyes burst opened, only to immediately be shut, squinting against the harsh white light shining on me. I could feel a gentle pulsing ache in my arms and legs, on my torso. I took in a deep breath.

I was on a cold surface, which felt like a soft plastic-y material. I tried to move, but I couldn't restore any feeling to my hands.

"Is she awake?" I heard someone speak. It was definitely a female voice but I couldn't place it.

"I'm not sure. Her eye's twitching..." That voice was male.

Then, I was sudden hit with a scratch in the back of my throat. I shuddered and pushed my hands upwards, coughing. The air in my lungs sent a spark of pain through my chest. I gasped. "She's definitely awake," I heard the same male voice again. I pried my eyes opened. The first thing I saw was the ceiling. It was a blank white canvas with black lines connecting where the titles met the actual lights.

I took a quick seconds to divert my eyes to my right arm where the majority of the pain was coming from. The skin that would have usually been smooth and flawless was now coated in a dried thick crust, the color a harsh dark brown. The burn was almost entirely covering my arm, except for a bit of flesh on my fingertips.

"Rose!" My brain was finally coherent enough to think straight. It was Lissa's voice. And the male's was Christian's.

My head leaned back again and I sighed. I opened my eyes and turned my head a bit to look around. Lissa, Christian, Dimitri, Avery, and Alberta stood in the corner of the room with worried expressions. The room was white. A little too white actually. Grey counters and one of the wheelie chairs with no backs...the hard plastic bed...

God, I was in the infirmary again. Now that I thought about it, I was wearing one of those see-through plastic green hospital gowns that only reached down to your knees with a white sheet covering me up to my chest. But...how did I get here?

"Rose!" Lissa repeated. She rushed over and gripped the side of the cot.

"Hey Lis," I said softly.

"Do you want me to heal you? Does it hurt?" She asked.

"Like hell. Please do," I replied.

She placed her hand gently on my arm. I hissed at the pain. Then, I felt my arm begin to tingle as her magic flowed into me. The burnt flesh crumbled up and fell off the bone, littering the floor. New skin healed over the burn. As the tingle spread through my whole body I knew that the burns on my legs and back were healing as well.

The pain in my lungs faded to a soft pulsing ache that I could control. "Thanks, Lissa." Then I realized what she'd done. I hadn't seen nor felt Lissa do magic since the attacks, and that was a good month and a half. The darkness hadn't been all that active lately, but I knew that if she started using it again it would come back.

"Your welcome," She said smiling. I smiled slightly back.

Behind Lissa, I saw Dimitri open his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted first.

"Miss Hathaway, It's good to have you back in here. We haven't seen you around in a while," I bright voice entered the room. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Dr. Olenski," I greeted. Her black hair was tied up and a white lab coat draped over her.

"I see Miss Dragomir has...healed the majority of your wounds?" She asked, checking something off on her clipboard.

"Uh, huh. Can I leave?" I asked. She chuckled.

"I guess so. But I should warn you that you did inhale a lot of smoke, so you might experience some throwing up within the next twenty-four hours. Don't worry about it, it's just your lungs getting any access smoke out of your system." She explained. I nodded and she handed me a pile of new clothes. I gratefully took them. She had me sign a some forms and then left.

I sighed and sat the clothes on the chair next to the bed.

I looked up after a second. "What happened?" I asked.

They all exchanged the hesitation looked, but Dimitri answered after a moment. "What do you remember?"

_Avery. Fire. _"Nothing," I lied.

"Well," Lissa said slowly. "When you didn't come out after a few minutes, Christian and Avery went inside. He was able to control the flames long enough to get you out, but..." She trailed off.

"You were pretty busted up," Adrian walked into the room carrying 2 cups of coffee and handed one to Lissa. She thanked him.

"They wouldn't let me heal you the second you got out. They needed to get everyone away from the fire." She said.

"How did the fire even start?" I asked.

"We're not sure," Dimitri answered. "The guardians are still looking for a source. We got lucky though. There were no deaths and the only real damage was done to the elementary and female Moroi dorms. They've already started to get a repair team together." I nodded, glad.

"Good," I took a second to sneak a glance at Avery. She was standing behind Dimitri and staring at me intensely. "Hey, can you guys leave? I need to change."

They all started to pile out but I stopped them. "Actually Avery, can you help me with something?" She glanced back at the group and then nodded.

When they were all out, I didn't bother even pretending I was going to change clothes. She smiled an all knowing smile. "You _do_ remember, don't you?"

"Yes," I answered. "I remember the pain, and the heat...and you,"

"So then you know what I am?"

"Of course I do! I'm not an idiot! I never liked you. I mean, I've only known you for a few days, but still. Something about your personality just blows everything out of proportion." I said slowly, looking over her.

"Listen. I'm not here for-"

"I thought that stupid bloodstone was suppose to keep you freaks away from me!" I shouted, confused.

"Oh, Rose. I don't think you-"

"I don't want any part of your stupid revenge or whatever it is that you want to do!"

"Rose, I'm not-"

"Please leave. Now. Seriously, Anna can do her own dirty work."

"_Rose!_ I'm not here for them!"

Wait - what?

"What do you mean?" I said after a second.

"You really think I'm a ghost?" She asked incredulously.

"Of course you are! Who else would've started that fire?" I told her.

"I didn't start that fire, Rose. If I was a ghost, then how would people be able to see me?" She asked, leaning over the bed.

"Well," I didn't have a straight answer for that one... "I don't know," I said, looking down.

"I'm not a ghost Rose. I'm not even dead. Well, I sort of am..." She trailed off.

I tried to raise an eyebrow but failed, again. Instead I just raised both. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I did die. I was in a car crash last year and...well, died. But my soul never moved on. I woke up in a coffin a few days afterwards and dug my way out. My heart wasn't beating, I couldn't feel anything, but yet I was alive and moving. And yea, I know that sounds like a Strigoi, but I'm not. I don't crave blood. I don't crave anything, actually. I don't need to eat or drink."

"Why? I mean, how did you come back?" I asked curious.

"I'm not sure. I've been trying to find answers and I know that your Shadow Kissed, so you have a connection with the dead."

"So...you want my help?"

"I don't know. Yea, I guess." She decided. "Rose, I'm not here to help you or hurt you, but if you do help me, then just know that you won't be getting anything in return. It isn't as if I have anything to give you, but I'm not interested in a friendship with you. I just want to find out why I am what I am." She explained. I sighed and nodded.

I paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. "So...you're like a zombie?" I said awkwardly. She cracked a smile.

"I guess so," Realization hit her face. "Oh! And about you bloodstone or whatever...I'm not sure that it, well, here." She ran out of the room for a minute and returned with a pair of jeans in her hand. Well, they used to be jeans. They were burned into pretty much nothing, and the ends were chard. "The stone was in the back pocket right?" I nodded slowly. She licked her lips and handed me the jeans.

I reached my fingers into what was left of the pocket. Nothing. I checked the other pocket. I pulled out a little piece of it where it had chipped in the fire.

"Where's the rest of it?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"I don't know." And just then, the intercom came on.

"_Rosemarie Hathaway, you're needed in Headmistress Kirova's office immediately. Thank you,"_ I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew I was in trouble.

I slid my feet out from under the blanket and landed on the cold tile floor. I picked up the pile of clothes and quickly changed into them, not bothering to kick Avery out of the room. "Let's go," I told her.

* * *

><p>The first thing that happened when I sat down in Kirova's office was not expected. She turned around her computer screen around to face me and she clicked the play button on the video that was opened. At first, all that it showed was a security camera image of her office. It was night, and pretty much everything was outlined in black.<p>

But then, there was a _clicking_ noise. The window behind her desk snapped up and a hand slipped inside on the seal. My head popped up. _Oh god_. I knew what this was.

It showed me climbing inside, going through the drawers and then finding the bag. It showed me reading the file, and taking the bloodstone when the light turned on.

It also showed two guardians that I didn't know going inside the second I got out. They were whispering so abrasively that I couldn't make out their words, but they did turn on the light in the office and pick up the bag. That's when the video ended. _I'm screwed_, I thought.

But why would she have had a camera in her office in the first place if she didn't...

"You set me up! You knew I was going to break in! You knew I was going to read the file!" I accused.

"Yes, but with only good intentions. You told us about the ghosts, and even though you refuse to tell us anything that's going on, we aren't your enemy-"

"You sure seem like it," I mumbled.

"But we aren't your friends either." She said sternly. Then, she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out the bloodstone. Well, it used to be the bloodstone. Now, it was a crumble of green, red, and black pieces.

"Where did you find that?" I asked after a moment. She placed the pieces on her desk.

"In the fire. We found it in the elementary dorms...where the fire started." My eyes widened.

"You can't mean that you think _I_ started the fire?" I asked incredulously.

"No, we think that this started the fire. See how it's chard around the edges? Rose, over the past 6 months, we've learned a lot about Magic, and Spirit, and the history of our own school, but that led to this, and this led to you saying that you can see the dead inside of wards. Ms. Carmack **(A/N: Sorry if the name is wrong!) **Has examined the stone. She believes that it _was_ charmed by someone a long time ago, which is why the luck of it being bad because is _was_ worn by St. Vladimir...then it started the fire. Of course, there is no proof, but it's the only thing we have to go on." Alberta, who was standing in the corner, told me.

"But we need to know more," Kirova said.

I waited for anything else. "Sure. In hell," I told them fiercely, standing and walking out of the office.

The bloodstone now held no power. They didn't have any leverage over me anymore. I had no reason to tell them anything. I mean, sure, Alberta's like my second mom. But I couldn't trust her to not tell them. The only person I could trust was Lissa, but I could baggage her with all this. She had her own life.

* * *

><p><em>AN: So I was planning on writing something here...but I couldn't figure out what to write... :\_

* * *

><p><strong>REMINDER: Thanks so much for all the favorites on this story, but unless you add it to your alerts as well then you'll never know when it gets updated...<br>**

**AH! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I mean, SEVENTEEN of of them! I only asked for 5 people :) And now, we only need 3 more to reach ONE HUNDRED!  
><strong>

**So to thank you, the next chapter will be FUN! Beaches, lemons, and drama ;) Also, you'll get more of the lesser characters in the chapter, like Christian and Eddie and Mia, who hasn't been in the fic at all :) I'm aiming for 5000+ words too!  
><strong>

**GAMES: Give me some party games. Like, 'I never', 'Truth or dare', or something like that :)  
><strong>

**xxelisa  
><strong>

SEQUEL: So I've decided to change the name of the sequel to...HYMN OF THE FORGOTTEN


	17. Never Have I Ever

_So your in for a REALLY rushed chapter...  
><em>

_A quick shout out to Silverose18 for being review #100!  
><em>

**Never Have I Ever  
><strong>

It was the hectic time of year when students were running around campus like idiots, scheduling trips, calling families, packing, figuring out how to sneak off with their boyfriends for the week, and so on. Tomorrow marked the first day of Spring Break; an entire week of no school, homework, teachers, training, or waking up early. Now, for the most part, us seniors didn't have to worry a whole lot about where we were going for the week. In years past, me and Lissa had always gone to her parent's cabin in Alaska. We would ski, drink hot chocolate, and talk about life.

But now, there were no parents to go to.

Instead, there was the senior trip.

You see, every year, the guardians felt like they needed to reward the seniors for all of their hard work - so, they put together a completely free trip where all you had to do was have your parent/guardians sign a release form. Most parents signed the form when they enrolled their kid into St. Vlad's, like mine, so I was covered.

The trip was different every year. Sometimes it was Brazil, sometimes The Great Barrier Reef, sometimes Canada; I think it just depended on the budget. Last year, I think the seniors went to Germany, but I wasn't here, so I wouldn't know. This year, it was California. It doesn't sound like much, since it was only, like, 4 states away or something, but it was way different in temperature, accent, and atmosphere. Plus, it was just a huge relief not to have to wear a coat every time you wanted to go outside, even in April.

The guardian's hadn't chosen a direct location yet, since people were still signing up, but they knew we were staying at a hotel pretty close to a beach. It was a pretty secluded beach, of course, because we were vampires, but there would be humans out there nonetheless.

Well, no. _They_ would be staying in a hotel close to a beach. We - 'we' being me, Lissa, Eddie, Adrian, Christian, and Avery - would be staying a few miles south of them in Lissa's private beach house. It use to belong to her parents, but when they died in the accident, it had been signed over to Lissa. It was directly on the sand, just a mere 100 feet from the ocean.

It was pretty big too. It was two storied, with 4 guestrooms, 2 queen bathrooms, 2 main bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and a full pool shower out back. And a hot tub. I hadn't been there for almost 4 years now, but the picture was still clear in my mind. The balcony wrapped around the front of the house, covered in sand colored wooden panels.

We would still have guardian's with us, because Lissa couldn't be out without a guardian until we graduated without wards. Hopefully, we got some fun guardians, like Alberta and Celeste. But with my luck, we would get someone like Stan. Or Stan himself...

There had been absolutely _no_ talk or actions of the undead-technically-dead within the past 2 days, since my meeting with Kirova. Sure, there was Avery, but I couldn't explain her just yet. I was surprised I wasn't getting any surprise attacks from Anna or Adelina or _someone_, because now they had direct access. The bloodstone was gone. I mean, before, they use to attack me at least a dozen times everyday. Now...there was nothing.

For the most part, I was finished packing. I had a few things I would pack tomorrow because I was still using them - for example, toothbrush. I would need that tonight...

I plugged in my iPhone so it could charge and pulled out an orange sweatshirt with some random advertising on the back that hung on my shoulders and a pair of grey shorts, along with clean underwear. I was about to shut the door to my bathroom so I could strip and shower, but a knock on the door made me groan.

Eddie was there.

"Hey," I greeted. He walked into my room without a glance.

"So Lissa wants me to set your alarm clock just to make sure your not late, or so that you don't set it 30 minutes before we leave." He said. Next thing I knew, his hands were on my digital clock pressing buttons.

"What? 6am?" I asked upset.

"It's a long way to drive, Rose. About 5 hours, and then we have to get to the beach house and unpack. Lissa's hoping to get a good 5 hours on the first day, which won't happen unless we get there earlier in the day." He placed my clock back down on the desk and turned to me. Yea - did I mention we were going by bus? There was no extra money in the school's budget this year for plane tickets.

"Alright, and if that's all-" I started to say.

"Did you know Mia's coming up from Court with us? She's staying with us too," He said, trying to hide smile.

"Really? She gets spring break too?" He nodded. "Well, that's great. And if you wouldn't mind, I need to shower," I said, nudging him towards to door.

* * *

><p>I. Was. Screwed.<p>

Because remember what happened the last time I was alone in a car with Dimitri for 5 hours?

Absolutely. Nothing.

*Earlier...*

_"Come on, Rose!__ I cannot believe you got up 2 hours before we had to leave and yet you are still making us late!" Lissa screeched as I finally walked down the driveway to where the buses were lined up. There were 4 of them, all black, all narrow._

_"I know, I know. Sorry," I said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me_ _towards the buses. I handed my bags to Eddie who then tossed them into the back of the last bus. Everyone else was chatting happily on the bus, seat belts in and cell phones in hand._ _Alberta was standing at the door waving her hand telling us to hurry. Lissa's feet pounded on the steps and took a seat next to Christian, wiping a hand over hair._

_I looked back and forth, trying to find a seat. "Hey, do you see a seat?" I asked Eddie, who was currently sitting next to Avery._

_He glanced back. "No, but we can-"_

_"Rose," Alberta tapped my shoulder, clipboard still in hand. "You can ride with Belikov. He's just behind us,"_

_My eyes widened with alarm. "Uh, no. I'm sure I can-" I protested, but she cut me off._

_"Now, Rose."  
><em>

*Currently...*

I slowly approached the Honda that Dimitri was driving. I definitely wasn't looking forward to this. The motor was running, and it looked like he was about to start driving, but when he saw my face outside the window his hands left the wheel and unlocked the passenger door.

"Why aren't you on the bus?" He asked me once I dropped my bag in the floor.

"They ran out of seats," I said simply, leaving it at that. I heard him sigh as I closed the door. I'm pretty sure he wasn't looking forward to this either.

To avoid any unnecessary awkwardness, I put in my headphones and put my iPhone on shuffle, the first song being Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade. Yea. Not a song for me right now. I quickly turned it off.

1 hour passed with no talking. The sun shone brightly at about ninety five degrees and it was only the morning.

2 hours.

3 hours.

4 hours.

Just 30 minutes left...

Oh god, my stomach did not just growl.

I turned my head just a smudge to see Dimitri's eyes still on the road, but an amused smile on his face.

"What?" I groaned. "I'm hungry." I whined.

"We'll be at the beach soon enough. I'm sure there's a McDonald's or something there," He told me.

"Please, Comrade?" I begged. I think the use of 'Comrade' broke him. He sighed.

"Fine," He answered.

* * *

><p>When we got to the main beach, the golden sand was gleaming, the sea was flooded with surfers, and the sun was peeking through the fluffy white clouds. Voices came from every direction from groups of friends and family vacationing. I climbed out of the car running a hand through my hair, trying to get out any tangled.<p>

The rest of the ride hadn't been completely awkward, but it was still torture to be so close to him...

The buses unloaded. Some of the students rushed to the back to get everyone their own bags, some of them squealed - never have seeing a beach before -, a some just yawned and stretched out.

I just leaned against the car and closed my eyes, getting used to the warm temperature and letting the salty-sweetness smell fill my lungs as I breathed in. It'd been a while since I'd been to the coast, not since I was away with Lissa.

The beach house was a just about another 45 minutes down the coast. It was amazing how fast the population could decline within just a few miles. Like I said before, the beach house was a pretty empty area.

"Little Dhampir!" Adrian called, interrupting my silence. I turned. Dimitri was already out and talking to Alberta by the buses while helping unload the bags.

"Yes, Adrian?" I asked.

"It feels amazing out here! We never get sun like this in Montana!" He said. **(Just a quick A/N: Let's pretend that they run on a sunshine-y schedule and that they're safe from the sun, 'Kay? :))**

A few minutes later, almost all the students had their luggage and were heading down to the hotel across the street.

"Rose! Lissa!" I heard that high voice that stood out from all the other voices.

"Mia!" Lissa squealed and threw her arms around Mia as she ran up to us. "I missed you!" She shouted.

"Hey, Mia," I greeted with a smile walking up to her. I didn't hug her like Lissa did, but the emotion was intended, nonetheless. "How's life at court?" I asked.

"Extremely boring! It's the same thing everyday! I just get to go to school, then read, or tweet, or play video games, but really, there is _nothing_ to do there except get involved with politics!" She exclaimed, a bright flush appearing on her cheeks after taking a deep breath. I couldn't help but laugh. It was just too cute when short people got angry.

"Well, we warned you not to go," Lissa laughed. "Come on. I need to figure what guardians are staying with us,"

* * *

><p>As it appears, Dimitri and I would be sleeping in the same house for a week, along with Celeste, Alberta, and Tanner. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but it was better then having Stan under the same roof. Plus, on the brighter said, maybe we could bond. Maybe we could patch things up a bit. It still seemed like he hated me.<p>

As the smaller bus approached the beach house, that's all that there was. Houses ran out of room a long time ago. For about 15 minutes now we've been driving on just sand. It stretched for miles. We were completely isolated away from the world.

The sand was different here, too. Sure, the sun was high in the sky, about noon, and the water glimmered darkly, but the sand was a light cream color, apposed to the main beach, where it was so orange it looked like it got a spray tan. The waves were low, and from our distance you could hear the water lapping up onto the shore.

We pulled up to the beach house, about 20 feet away and opened the doors. Adrian whistled.

"Damn, Lis." He said, overlooking the house. It was still the same. Lots of windows, a full front and back patio complete with the hot tub and benches.

"Come on. Let's unpack," Eddie said in a strained voice as he lifted Mia's bags from the car. "God Mia. It's a week, not a month," He said once they were on the ground. She looked at the ground and didn't say anything while we all smiled a bit.

* * *

><p>It was only 3 in the afternoon. We were figuring out the sleeping situation, which, as it appears of now, Dimitri and Tanner would be in a room, then Alberta and Celeste. Then, us girls would be in a room and the boys in the other. The rest of the gang were checking out the rest of the beach house, so me and Lissa plopped down on one of the couch's to wait for them.<p>

I wasn't tired, as I slept in the car on the way here, so when Mia suggested that we spend the rest of the day at the beach, I was the first to agree.

But of course, we had all week for that, so Lissa said that we were going to be uptown stocking up on food and toiletries for the week. I couldn't say no to that because they were sort of a necessity.

So Mia, Lissa, and Christian went to the city with Alberta and Tanner, which left me, Eddie, Avery, and Adrian. Along with Dimitri and Celeste of course.

"Hey," I heard a knock on the opened door outside our room and Eddie walked in. I was just finishing up unpacking my stuff. I stopped and looked up.

"What's up?" I asked pushing my hair out of my face as I stood from the floor where my suitcase was. He was wearing a nervous face with his sandy hair.

"Look. This is spring break and its suppose to be fun and have no pressure or drama, but I haven't really gotten to talk to you since your birthday. I've been wanting to."

"Talk about what?" I asked, plopping down on the double bed and leaning back. He walked over with a hand on his neck and sat on the edge.

"It's just...well, since the - the attacks you've been really distant. I mean, you've just been kind of pushing us away. I'm worried about you. _We're_ worried about you." I just stared at him. "Look, I'm not going to make you say anything, but we all know something's up. You keep freaking out all the time, your parents showed up, you went to _Itatly_ without telling us, and then you don't even try to get out of house arrest. We just want you back. Now, it's spring break. No more pressure, 'Kay? I'll see you later," He finished and stood, walking to the door.

"Wait-" I said.

"Rose, I just said that-" He turned around.

"No."

I snapped. Something inside of me finally broke, and I realized that I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want this weight on me, keeping me from living my life. And if my best friend was here right now, wanting to take away some of that weight, then...

"Something is going on," I said. I curled my legs up to my chest and leaned my head on my knees.

"Do you want to...?" He trailed off in the all knowing question. Did I want to tell me about it? Yes. Should I? No.

"Do you remember about a month ago, in Mr. Nagy's class when we were talking about the civil war?" His eye brows rose.

"Sure..."

"Well, do you remember how he said that we were having our own civil war? About how the Strigoi attacked the school and there were almost no survivors?"

"Yea," I paused, trying to figure out how to word it.

"Well...ever since then, since the attacks...I saw Mason out when I was with Dimitri, Eddie," His eyes saddened but stayed alert. "He told me - he told that _they_ were coming. I thought he meant the Strigoi...but he didn't. He meant the ghosts. The ghosts that died during the civil war."

I looked up and saw him again leaning over me. Realization was plain on his face.

"And now they're...haunting you?" I couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"Haunting. Yea." I turned over, sliding out from under him. I now was laying flat on my back and he was on his side, watching me. "That's a good way to put it."

"And what do they want? Why are they doing this to you?" He asked.

"They want revenge on the guardians for being able to protect us but not them. They think they died for no reason. I think that they want me as their leader, someone who can talk to them and the living."

"And they planned to do this by how?"

"By turning everyone against me. And it was working at first."

"Rose-"

I shot up. "You _cannot_ tell anyone," I said urgently. His eye brows creased.

"Why? Rose, they need to know this! And that still isn't the whole story,"

"They just...they can't know, Okay? Not now. Besides, like you said. No pressure."

* * *

><p><em>Ha. No pressure? Yea, sure. No pressure - no pressure from Tasha Ozera who seems to want to get down and dirty with my boyfri- oh, excuse me. <em>Ex-_boyfriend._

Sarcasm makes me feel better. It took every ounce of self control in my body not to act on impulse and rip her legs off.

"Rose! Eddie! Look who we found!" Christian called from downstairs. We were still stuck in an intense stare down trying to figure out who was right, but we broke out of it long enough to go see what was going on. I pounded down the stairs with Eddie on my trail.

They all stood in the small square kitchen. Christan and Lissa were standing and had grocery bags on their arms. Alberta was helping along with Tanner. Avery was standing happily next to Eddie when we got down. Adrian sat on the counter, Dimitri was also standing with a shocked but excited look on his face. Because Tasha Ozera was standing in the middle of the room, helping them unload the food into the refrigerator.

My chest tightened.

"I was going to come down to the academy for spring break, but then I remembered the trip so I flew out here." She explained with that devil smile.

Okay. I guess it wasn't fair to hate her so much. She's been nothing but kind to me since Lissa and Christian started dating, but she still tried to take Dimitri away. It was impulse to be upset.

"Hi! I don't think we've met," Tasha said to Avery. Her black hair was limp as she had just gotten out of the shower.

"I'm Avery. It's nice to meet you," She said with the same distaste as me. I mentally cheered. We were on the same side.

"Rose! How are you?" She asked, giving me one of her hugs. I couldn't help but fake a smile and return the hug.

"Just great, Tasha. How 'bout you?"

"Things are good," She answered, not noticing that it was a rhetorical question.

"Alright," Christian said. "It's too dark to go anywhere, but we could have like, a game night or something," He suggested.

"Oh yea! Come on Rose. How long as it been since we've played Truth or Dare?" Lissa said grabbing my arm with a bright smile.

"Since we were in Portland. You know what? Let's do this," I could use a night with no _pressure_.

Dimitri was definitely the only one that needed convincing. He didn't like exposing himself, or singling himself out, or having people know about his personal life, or pretty much anything, but we got him to agree.

Lissa grabbed some food and drinks - pizza rolls and Pepsi - and we all walked out.

We all gathered in one of the larger sitting rooms and pushed the furniture close to the wall so we could sit in a circle. First me, then Eddie was on my right, Lissa, Avery, Christian, Dimitri, Tasha, Adrian, and then Mia was on my left. Most of the guardians had retired.

"Let's play Never Have I Ever," Mia said excitedly.

"Hmm, your deepest and darkest secrets are about to be revealed," Lissa affirmed in a high voice.

"Okay, so here's the rules," I said. "We'll go in a clockwise circle around us and every person has to say 'Never Have I Ever...' and then you say something you've never done before. Then, if the Have Have I Ever applies to you, then you eat one...um," I stood up and ran into the kitchen, returning with a full bag of M&M's. "Of these," I finished. I gave everyone each 15 and set the bag down beside me.

"I'll go first." Adrian volunteered. "Never Have I Ever hooked up with a student," He wore a smug smile, almost a smirk. He was totally ganging up on Dimitri. I glared at him as did Dimitri. A few seconds later when Dimitri actually eat one of the M&M's, Tasha's eyes practically popped out of her head.

"Ok, then." Mia said. "Never Have I Ever paid someone for a blowjob," And of course, we were a bit surprised when Eddie picked up an M&M. A flush covered his cheeks.

"Care to share, Eddie?" I said smirking.

"Not really," He said looking at the floor.

"Mine turn." I said. "Never Have I Ever, um...had sex on my parent's bed," Adrian took one. As did...

"Dimitri!" I scowled. He looked guilty.

"Rose, if your not forgetting, I was a teenager once. I did reckless things, just like you," He said sharply. Ah, if he wanted to play that card then he could.

"Ok, Never Have I Ever gone skinny dipping," Eddie said. Me and Lissa exchanged a glance burst out laughing. Oh, Portland. Yea, nobody was getting that story tonight. I cleared my throat and stuck an M&M in my mouth, as did Lissa, and Christian.

Lissa was next. "Never Have I Ever slept with a teacher," I nearly spit up my food in her face. Instead I gagged and choked on the pizza roll.

"_Lissa,_" I hissed under my breath.

_Sorry! It was impulse! _She said through the bond. I stole a glance at Dimitri. He was staring at me as well. I saw him flinch and turn away quickly. I looked back with a small blush on my cheeks.

I slipped another M&M into my mouth. By now, Tasha's eyes were narrowed. She was definitely putting the puzzle together.

* * *

><p>A good hour later it was almost eleven o'clock and people were starting to dismiss themselves to shower and sleep. Only me and Christian were remaining. I stood up and collected a few of the plates laying on the floor to take to the kitchen. "Well, I guess that's that, huh Rose?" Christian said, stretching.<p>

"Hmm, well, having you in the same room for over two hours wasn't _too_ incredibly unbearable. Next time just remember to not talk as much. Maybe that would prevent the pounding headache I have," I replied with a snarky smile.

"You know you love me, Rosie."

"I'll let that pass if you don't sneak Lissa out of our room tonight," I replied dryly.

I put the dishes in the washer and headed up stairs where Mia and Avery were sitting on one of the beds talking intensely, probably getting to know each other. In the bathroom, the water was running where Lissa was showering. "Hey guys," I said when I entered the room.

"Have fun with Christian?" asked Mia.

"Oh sure. It was _great_," I said, putting emphasis on 'great'.

As soon as Lissa came out of the bathroom I hurried in and took a shower of my own. I stood under the water until it ran cold and then changed into sweats and a loose black t-shirt. Lissa was sound asleep next to Mia and Avery was settling into the bed me and her were sharing. The room was dark except for the small lamp sitting on the cream table next to the TV across from us.

I wasn't tired at all. I was probably going to sneak down the hall in a minute to sit next to the hot tub outdoors on the balcony and just watch the stars. I walked over to the window and leaned against it, wrapping my hands around the edge of the window sofa.

It was a pretty ordinary night. The waves crashed silently against the sand and the moon shone bright in the sky. A few birds flew by...

A man standing by the small group of trees closer up to the road, almost half a mile away from the beach. I couldn't make out anything except for the shape of his body. It was only a silhouette against the harsh moonlight. Of course, that wasn't the suspicious thing here. I hurried out of the room without bothering to grab a jacket. This was California after all.

Most of the lights were out in the house. Only the Guardian's had lights peaking out from under the shut doors.

I quickly climbed down the stairs and opened the door to outside, shutting as quietly as I could. I descended the stone steps and passed the lawn tables and chairs. I could still see the man. He was now looking directly at me, but his features were still a mystery. I knew I should go back and get a guardian, but something in my gut was telling me not to.

A few minutes later, I was only a good 10 feet away from him. I could see dark hair, probably black, that swept across his face, but not quiet to his shoulders. He was wearing a long black leather coat and dark skinny jeans. He had on tall black boots covered in buckles and chains. The left side of his hair was covered in tiny spikes, but the most enthralling part of him was his eyes. With the light shining on them, they glowed. Sparkled. It surrounded his eyes like a raccoon.

"Recognize me?" He asked, startling me out of my thoughts. I had stopped about five feet away from him.

"I don't-" I said after a moment. It was clear that he knew me.

"of course not," he said, stopping me. "I believe you met my fiancé. She's dead."

I gasped realizing and stepped back in fear. "Don't worry. I don't..." he paused looking for the right word. "Eat your kind."

I shivered. I couldn't see his eyes. "Your eyes..." I trailed off. Strigoi eyes weren't dull. They shined and glowed against the night. His eyes, well, were dull.

He sighed. "It's called glitter, sweetheart. I've changed a lot since the 1800s."

"No." I said shaking my head. "I mean, they aren't red."

He shrugged. "Contacts. It lessons the stares."

I wasn't sure what to say. Here in front of me was some sort of punk Strigoi telling me he wasn't even going to attempt to drink my blood. "What did you mean when you said that you don't," I gulped. "eat my kind,"

"I'm not sure. What did Adelina tell you?" He raised an eyebrow. I breathed in.

"She told that you could you could walk in the day. You drunk the blood of a witch." I said, cautiously. He took a step forward.

"Sure. But you see, the witch's blood didn't just shield my skin. It opened my mind to other types of blood. Yes, Moroi blood is awesome. But, it only has a small fraction of the elements and flavor and _power_ - that Strigoi blood has." He paused. "I guess you could call me a cannibal. I don't have many friends on my side."

I crossed my arms. "I see," It was such an easy lie to believe...if it was a lie...

"Come on. Sit with me," He said, gesturing to the sand below us. I hesitated. "Come on. I swear I won't touch you," I dropped to my knees and then swung me feet around so that I was sitting next to him.

I was now facing the beach house. A light turned on.

"Why are you here?" I asked lightly.

"Believe it or not, darling, but we're on the same side."

"What do you mean?"

"At one point or another, every Strigoi on this earth has been drained of blood, therefore dead. It may not be the same kind, but magic did make them what they are. It changed them, brought them back to life. We've all been to the other side, you've been to the other side. We can all see the dead." My eyes widened. Strigoi were shadow kissed. I was shocked to say the least.

"So...you can see Adelina?" He nodded.

"Then why did you kill her? I mean, if you knew that you would still be able to see her in afterlife..." I trailed off.

"I did what I did because I was angry. I was upset that she ran away from me. Well, as a Strigoi, our senses are heightened. The fact that I was mad just made me jealous that she wanted to be somewhere else. I did know that I could still see her afterwards. She knew it too, but she found a way to cloud herself so I wouldn't be able to find her,"

"Did you love her?"

"Of course I did. That was another effect of the magic in the blood. I could feel emotions. I still can. If I didn't love her then I wouldn't still be pinning for her. I just wish I could find her," I stayed silent. He stared out toward the ocean, watching the moon's reflection wavering on the water.

"Were you the one who drank my blood in the hallway? The one that's been pretending to be Dimitri?" I asked almost a whisper.

"No. That's Mikael. He wants the war like Anna and everyone else. They pretend not to care, but they do."

"What about you? Do you care?" I questioned.

He snickered, though I'm not sure why. "Of course. We all do. Anything the dead does effects the undead. Any time they mess something up, it messes things up for Strigoi too. We don't want the war. The few that did get turned in the attacks have no reason to care. They can't feel anger towards people who are dead anyways."

A thought suddenly popped up into my head. "I know this is sort of not on the same topic, but maybe you can help me. I have this friend. She died a year ago in a car crash, but she didn't actually die. Well, she did but she woke up."

"Sounds like a Strigoi," He said looking at me.

"But that's that thing. She doesn't need to drink blood, or drink period. She doesn't need to eat or breathe or sleep or anything. She's just a body with only half a soul."

"And people can see her? Feel her?" I nodded.

"That's odd. I've never heard of anything like-"

"Rose!" I heard my name being called in the distance. My head shot up.

"That's my friends. They must have noticed that I'm not there,"

"I'm sorry I can't help you," He said.

"It's fine. I just really have to go."

"And you won't see me again, just so you know. I don't want nor need friends. I just wanted to meet you. The girl who will lead a dead army."

"I'm not leading any army, now or never," I snapped.

* * *

><p>"Where were you?" Avery shouted when I walked into the beach house. Her and Mia were stalking around the living room waiting for my return and Lissa had greeted me at the door with the same response. It was almost midnight.<p>

"I was just taking a walk. I wasn't tired. You should've worried." I said.

"Yes, we can worry when you don't take any sort of protection. We are outside of wards you know!" Lissa scowled.

_Oh, yes. Believe me I know. _"Of course, Lis. I'm sorry I scared you."

"I'm not an idiot Rose." She said, surprising me. "I know you weren't just going on a walk. We have a bond, remember?" She snapped.

"Are you mad at me for something?" I asked, getting frustrated.

"Oh no. Not at all! It has nothing to do with that you don't trust me anymore, or that you feel like you need to keep secrets, or not tell me when you start seeing dead people, or going to Italy without me. Or maybe even just not wanting to hang around me anymore because you have dead friends to talk to instead," She yelled sarcastically. Avery and Mia watched from the sidelines.

My mouth _fell_ opened. How did going on a walk get to this? All of her anger was coming out in burst these days.

"Lissa," She knew what I was about to say. _It's the darkness, Lis._ I slowly connected my mind with hers and tugged, channeling her energy into me.

"What's going on?" Dimitri's voice echoed into the room with his footsteps as he came down the stairs.

Lissa huffed. "Rose went on a walk.

Pulling Mia and Avery along with her, she went up the stairs and disappeared into the hallway.

Dimitri's confused face turned to me. "What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing, just...nothing." I brushed past him about to go talk to Lissa, but he grabbed my arm.

"You're going to have to do better then that." I sighed.

"Look, I just went out to get some air, okay? Why do you care anyways?" I asked. His eyes widened as he spun me around so I was facing him.

"What do _I care_?" He asked. "Since when have I not cared, Rose? I've told you before that I want to help you!" He told me.

"And I know that. But remember - "

"I remember what I told you, and it still stands, but I...I miss you. Oh god I miss you." He whispered, pulling me into him. He closed his eyes.

_This is happening really fast_, I thought.

"I'm sorry." His hands loosened against my wrist. "Go to bed." He completely let me go and pushed my in the direction of the stairs.

Breathlessly I answered him. "Dimitri you know we can't fight this any longer, please. Why can't you just let your guard down for once for me?" I looked down feeling betrayed by the tears forming in my eyes. "I miss you too," Without another moment to wait for his reaction, I threw myself into him, grabbing his face and pulling him down to meet my lips.

He caught me easily gripping my hips as we met in a hungry kiss. A growl erupted from the back of his throat. I traced the tip of my tongue on his bottom lip begging for entrance. His lips parted and our tongues tangled. I slowly pulled back, but he wouldn't have it. He attacked my mouth with his, forcing my lips apart, and having our tongues meet in a battle.

I kissed him back, pushing my body on his, rubbing my hands down and under his shirt, outlining his toned abs. I worked my way higher, brushing my thumb against his nipples, earning a defined groan. He violently shoved me down further into the hallway, sucking and nipping at my neck, finding my weak spot under my ear. I moaned quietly. I was now pressed firmly against a white door, which Dimitri threw open and pushed me into. He kicked the door shut hard with his foot.

An empty guest room.

His hands were quick to get under my top, running up and down my back as my body tingled with delight. My legs wrapped around his waist and I pressed harder into him, gaining an animalistic growl to erupt from my lover. As we found the side of the bed, we kissed desperately again, with me still wrapped around him as he stood.

He violently shoved me down onto the back. I land with a thud on my back.

Soon enough we were both half naked in our underwear. I knew he was aroused and I could feel it, but before I could manipulate it to my advantage I felt my arms become restrained above my head. I didn't dare protest and I mostly didn't want to as I felt his hand trail down my bare chest and across my stomach. Causing another shiver to rattle through my body.

His slow, seductive trail tormented me endlessly and I tried to suppress my whimpering but I soon caved in. I felt helpless and prone but part of me enjoyed it.

He chuckled over my helpless state, and the very sound of his voice done wicked things to me. Through his torment he exercised his control and dominance over me further. He placed a taunting kiss between my breasts and I couldn't stop myself from arching my back in delight and want. I wanted him to continue with this bittersweet scenario. He smiled at me so suddenly it felt like it twisted my heart

He reached under my back and found the clasp to my plain bra. I let out a giggle - a_ giggle_ - when he groaned frustrated as he couldn't figure out how to unclasp it. "Here," I whispered. I pushed against his chest and flipped us over.

I straddled his hips and reached up behind me with one hand, pushing the two pieces of fabric together and letting the bra fall loose on my shoulders. I slid it off slowly and tossed it to the side.

I was hit suddenly with a flashback of the cabin. _"We can't,", "I know."._

If this went on in the direction it was heading, then it would only be my second time...

And we had a full house of friends and co-workers above us.

But my mind closed up, and a rush of ecstasy filled me.

* * *

><p>"If I had to bring three things with me on a deserted island I would bring…my family picture album, my favorite book, and a camera." Lissa said. She was leaning back on a blue and green striped beach towel trying to soak up any sun she could on her pale skin. Christian was next to me laying down with his legs crossed and I was laying on my stomach watching Mia and Eddie flirt humorously while trying to build a sand castle. Avery and Tasha were together getting hot dogs for us all down up the beach and the Guardians - ps. Dimitri - sat a few feet away from us.<p>

"A camera? Why so you can document how frickin' hungry you are? I would bring Abe, a grocery store and a gourmet chef." I said.

"Why Abe?" Christian asked.

"So he could pay the chef," I told him.

"Ah, of course," He laughed.

I gripped the back of my neck as I craned my neck backwards. Dimitri was talking quietly with Celeste in plain black swim shorts. _Only_ black swim shorts.

He leaned down and caught my eye. I blushed and quickly turned back looking to the water.

The awkwardness had still not yet subsided. I woke up this morning to find him gone. I had quickly put back on my clothes and rushed out of the room. Well...limping. He'd been in the kitchen alone, fixing a pot of coffee. It was only 7 when I woke and I could tell that he'd been up for at least an hour already. He has completely ignored me, not giving me a second glance as he pour 4 cups, taking them to the guardians upstairs.

And of course, my day hadn't gotten much better when Tasha kept sneaking me odd glances.

For the rest of the morning I stayed upstairs alone waiting for Lissa to call me for the beach thinking about two things. James and Dimitri.

And now, I sat here in my black, pink, and orange plaid bikini waiting for him to acknowledge my existence.

Suddenly, the air became thick. Too thick to breathe.

"Hey," I said standing up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"'Kay," Lissa answered. Without bothering to slip on my flip flops I trudged across the burning hot sand.

The bathrooms were by the racketed wooden food stands, and directly to the left, the boardwalk. So naturally, when I crossed the top of the boardwalk to get to the bathrooms, Tasha just happened to bump into me and our shoulders collided, causing her to drop the hotdogs.

"Oh! Sorry!" I apologized halfheartedly and bend down to help her, ignoring the annoyed look on her face.

And all the sudden, I heard her scream.

I stumbled back, feeling half the wooden boards beneath me that I knew to be the dock splinter and crack. I heard a crushing sound, and all of the sudden, it crumbled.

Just air.

Wind blew my hair in my face as the dock soared past me in pieces and I felt myself falling.

I was vaguely aware that I was screaming too, but the air deluded it to only a whisper against the harsh wind.

I felt like I was going to throw up as my stomach flipped.

The water hit my back painfully hard. The slam of the water knocked the breath right out of me and I barely had a split second to suck in any amount of air. I sunk instantly feeling the water engulf me like a sea monster swallowing its dinner.

I felt my hand breath air for just a moment before going back under.

I heard echos of my name being called, but my ears were already submerged underwater, making things sound muted and fuzzy. The whole world became a black and gray haze moving in slow motion. My eyes stung as I looked through the murky water at the shadows of people moving on the dock.

The water weighed heavily on my body sucking me under and pulling me deeper. Panic swept through me and I began thrashing my arms around and frantically kicking, squeezing my eyes tightly shut digging and clawing my way back to the surface. After only a few seconds I had no choice but to breath. Instead of the air I wanted, I got a mouthful of water that I swallowed. The roles of the water reversed as it hit my gag reflex. I involuntary choked, my stomach shooting inwards.

I felt my lungs seize and my heartbeat slow. I was too far underwater to see anything on the surface anymore, and once I got past the aching in my chest from the lack of oxygen, it was kind of peaceful. My own world. The only sound was the silence. My body began to shut down, and I went numb.

My eyes closed against the sting of the salt water, and I just floated.

Until I felt the hands surrounding my feet.

* * *

><p><strong>Imma say 10 reviews before next update?<strong>

**The description of the beach house was _crappy_. In fact, a lot of it was crappy... There's a link on my profile to a picture.**  
><strong>Also, There's a link to the bikini's on my profile too. If you look at Mia's, you'll have to change the colorpattern to 'H18-electric leopard'.**

**So Rose finally comes out with the truth to Eddie! YAY! ._ I think I was totally mental when I wrote this and I'm sorry. There you have it. _And reviews are loved!**

**Unfortunately the lemon didn't really become a lemon... :\ If anyone wants to write a new one based on this situation and send it to me, I'll update this and give you credit :)  
><strong>

**I tend to write really long A/N:'s, huh?  
><strong>

**xxelisa**


	18. The Butterfly's Doll

**The Butterfly's Doll****  
><strong>

_History is made in blood. Wars, heritage, religion…blood runs through it all. The lives we live, the deaths we die, the love we create, all contained and carried by the blood inside each and every one of us._

_Life is made in blood. Blood makes you warm. Blood makes you shine.  
><em>

_Death is made in blood. When the blood is gone, so is your soul, leaving a pale, cold, hard body in it's place. Death eats at it until it becomes dry and fragile, and that's when it breaks and decays._

_Love is made in blood._

_Sacrifice is made in blood._

_Pain is made in blood._

_It makes you anything other then dead.  
><em>

_All of it._

* * *

><p>It pulled and pulled until I was sure I was inside of the earth. Everything was black. I couldn't scream, or cry, or pray. I only felt the water slicing past my skin. Suddenly, I stopped. There was no more pressure on my body, my legs, and I was completed lost in the sea water.<p>

My lungs cried out for air, but I knew I was going to pass out even sooner if I opened my mouth to the water.

My eyes peaked open to be met with burning salt water. They stung and I had the urge to shut them right away, but I knew I needed to use what little time I had left to find a way out of this. I couldn't tell which way was up, so swimming anywhere was pointless. My eyes adjusted to the water, but that didn't help with the darkness. I couldn't see a single thing, not even my hand in front of my face.

I blinked.

Suddenly, I could breath. I gasped as I landed on solid ground. It felt like cement. I opened my eyes and found myself...in the water.

How-?

I was standing in the middle of the ocean, _beneath the water_. It was like an air bubble was pressed up against me, so I could breathe and blink, and stand and walk. But...I was still surrounded by water. My feet were on ground, but they were still kicking to keep my from going under even more. The darkness lit up into a bright blue, where I could see every ripple the water made.

I blinked.

I felt my body push backwards against the water as I gasped. Air bubbles floated from my mouth.

Anna was directing in front of me. Her mouth was close enough that we could have kissed. Her eyes gleamed wide and her hair flew wildly around her face.

I blinked.

She was gone. In her place were butterflies. Bright blue butterflies. They outlined her body and floated gently away, one by one. The scattered around the water as if there was no water. Their wings fluttered together, making a soft whispering sound. Could I hear under water?

And then, I blinked.

The bubble was gone. The butterflies were gone. The hand was pulling on me and I descended down further into the water. No air.

I finally was relieved of the ache in my chest and my eyes shut against the water. My world went out.

* * *

><p>My eyes shot opened. Dimitri's mouth was on mine and his hands covered my chest. I gasped and pushed against him, sitting up and coughing up mouth fulls of salt water. I pressed my hands to the hot sand and took in a deep breath.<p>

I looked up. I was sitting just a few feet from the water and the sand beneath me was wet from the tide. Cool wind was blowing on me, but because I was soaked from head to toe, it felt like ice chips were raining. I shivered.

Before I could ask questions, Lissa's arms encircled me, making me fall back onto the sand.

"L-Lis. Can't breathe," I gasped. She pulled back immediately and place her hands on my shoulders helping me up again.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm just so glad your alright!" She cried. I turned my head and located the dock. It completely shattered, only the top and a few beams remaining. There were officers and guys wearing bright yellow vests putting tape around the area, warning other people not to go near the dock in case more of it collapsed.

"You were under for over 10 minutes. We were sure you were dead," Christian appeared next to me with Avery. I ignored him and kept my eyes on the dock.

"How did the dock fall in?" I asked, not talking to anyone in particular.

I was Eddie was answered. "We're not sure. They've got people over there trying to find a spot where the wood may have been rotting, but so far nothing's come up," My mind thought back to Anna. Had I been hallucinating from the lack of oxygen, or had I really experienced all that. The butterflies, the bubble, Anna.

Of course, I have absolutely no clue how I was able to breath under the water, but what if the ghosts had purposely made the dock brake. What if they had intended for me to see that stuff.

But that's all I had. _What if's_.

* * *

><p>I stood in front of the complete wall mirror in the upstairs bathroom in the girl's room with the door opened. My hands gripped the edge of the counter and I stared at myself. I was wearing an orange loose top and white jean shorts over my bikini and was trying to back tears.<p>

I could have died today. Dimitri came after me. He must have cared at least a little bit to save my life.

Pots and pans were banging downstairs where Christan was trying to help Lissa cook lunch. I tried to smile. Lissa may be one of the most amazing people you could ever meet, but she sucked when it came to cooking. The smile disappeared as fast as it came.

I was wrong. The ghosts hadn't forgotten me just because they thought I had bloodstone. They wanted me to think that though, so that the second they had the opportunity to get me, they could. I wouldn't be cautious.

I head a knock on the door. Eddie was leaning against it just like yesterday. "Hey," He said. "Lunch is ready," My head swung down toward the sink and my hair fell over my face.

"I'll be down in a second," I said, my voice cracking.

"You don't have to pretend to be okay, Rose," He said after a minute. "What's going on?" He said, placing a warm hand on my arm. I flinched.

"Is it insane to pray for better hallucinations?" I whispered finally looking into the mirror. A tear fell. His eyes widened. "I don't want to do this anymore," I said. "I don't want to live like this, but I don't know how to stop it." Another tear. "If I died today, then it would be over." I broke and I felt my knees quiver. They went weak and I couldn't hold myself up anymore. I fell to the ground in a sobbing wreck. Eddie wrapped his arms around me and held me.

I grabbed his arm and cried into his chest, drenching his shirt. "Come here," He said, pulling me in closer.

After a few minutes, my tears subsided, but my eyes were still welled with water. "Sorry," I choked, poking his chest.

"What happened Rose?"

"I can't talk about it," I said softly.

His hand found my chin and he looked me in the eyes. "You're going to have to." He sighed and stood up, dragging me to my feet. He opened a cabinet and pulled out a white washcloth. He wet it down and gently put it on my face, clearing my skin of the dried tears and cooling my bloodshot eyes. "I don't want you to hurt yourself," He told me. I knew what he was referring to. When Lissa had her breakdown and cut herself, I'd told myself that I didn't understand why she did it. I didn't know how she felt for real, even with the bond.

I convinced myself that there were other ways to release pain, like talking to someone, or crying, or just relaxing. But maybe when it comes to worse, the best thing you can do is make yourself hurt. You're already hurting in the first place, what's a blade and some blood do to change that?

I'd never even considered cutting myself, mainly because things hadn't gotten bad until now.

"Your stronger then that, Rose. You've been through so much, but when it came down to the end, you have always won. Don't sink to that level. Don't tell yourself that you can't, because you _can_," Eddie said, leaning down to my height.

It had only just occurred to me how much taller Eddie was then me.

He was right, though. I _was_ stronger then that. A new light opened up for me. I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for them to make the first move. I was going to fight back. I would give all I had, and I would win.

Because the dead could play their games with me.

But when it came down to it...there were much worse games to play.

* * *

><p>I pounded down the stairs with a new face. A stronger, more mature, surer face. The kitchen stank of something that Lissa had burnt but a decent looking hamburger sat before an empty chair with my hypothetical name written on it. I quickly sat down and ignored the looks from my friends.<p>

"You look happy," Mia said from the side.

"I've had a change of heart Mia." I said smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah! I couldn't help but quote the Hunger Games!<br>**

**Thanks so much for the support on the last chapter! I guess I just felt like I didn't live up to my expectations. Anyways, I love this chapter and I hope you do to!**

**So, as we all know, if you celebrate it, Christmas is coming up! It's only like, a week away and I'm super excited! As my Christmas present to you guys, I'm going to write a short n' sweet Dimitri/Rose fan fiction and upload on Christmas day, if I'm able to get online. Otherwise, it'll be up the day after.**

**Now, this is where you guys come in! Give me some suggestions on what I should write the story about. It can be anything, romance, death, angst, and can take place in any of the books or before or after. So basically, just anything! I'll pick the one I like the best and write it!**

**XelisaX  
><strong>


	19. Set Glass To The Rain

**Set Glass to the Rain  
><strong>

Graduation was a good month away, and I was pulling on the edge, trying to get every grade to count. As of now, I was just passing all but one class: Guardian Theory with Stan. Begging at his feet for a passing grade would just boost his ego and publicly humiliate me, so class participation was the next best thing.

"So your saying that you would run the Moroi through as fast as you could, circling them and get to the exit with out looking to see if there was a Strigoi behind you? Incorrect. You would circle them, yes, but you would want to keep a group of guardians on all 4 sides of the Moroi, using the remaining Guardian's to run in front and behind them, creating a sort of spiraling effect." He'd given us 15 minutes to study a map, which reminded me vaguely of Star Wars, and then find a way to get a group of 4 Moroi through the building with only 8 guardians. He'd just insulted a girl Dhampir named Katie, I think.

"Wouldn't it save time and energy if you were to just scope out the whole place in the beginning? I mean, leave the Moroi at the front with a few Guardians and then the others find out if there are any Strigoi on the perimeter, and chances are there won't be anyways. That way you can insure the Moroi's safety without getting everyone of your Guardians killed in the same place leaving the Moroi defenseless." I explained out loud even though I hadn't been called on. Some people just looked at me like I was crazy and others had there mouths hung open, and Stan just looked pissed that I had out smarted him.

Hopefully, that would give me a push in the Moroi Defense part of the average grade.

"Miss Hathaway," Stan said after a moment in a strained voice. "I would appreciate it if you waited to be called on to speak," He glared at me.

"Oh, of course, Guardian Alto." I said smiling. "We wouldn't want anything else, would we?"

* * *

><p>"Rose," Dimitri turned the corner into the courtyard and stopped walking. "Why aren't you in class?"<p>

"Stan kicked me out but didn't have the heart to send me to Kirova." I had my head leaning against the lockers and my knees crossed on the ground. Dimitri sighed.

We'd gotten back from California a week ago and me and Dimitri still hadn't talked about what happened at the beach house. I knew he was avoiding me, but any attempt I had tried to get him alone rendered useless. Something would always come up; a meeting, or classes, or lunch, or curfew, _something_. All I needed to know was if he still hated me or not.

But he told me that he missed me. That could be a good sign. Hopefully.

I eyed him as he looked around for spectators. He gestured me up. "Come on. Let's talk," My eyes widened. After a moment of prepared shock - It's always the things you see coming that surprise you the most, huh? - I pushed myself off the ground and straightened my shirt.

He was already walking away from me towards the guardian dorms.

"Wait up!" I called.

After a few minutes of me trailing behind him, we walked into the lobby of the dorms. He held the door open for me, but quickly carried on in front.

When he stopped in front of his door, he pulled a key out of his back pocket and unlocked the door. He gestured me to go inside and followed me a moment a later. I might have been staring at the opposite wall of the door, but I tried not to gasp when I heard the lock click into place.

Although it was April, the weather was still not getting any warmer. It was still a good 50 degrees outside and below freezing at night, but inside his room - ahem, more like house... - was warm and cozy. Almost too warm to the point of making me sweat. I shrugged off my jacket and threw it onto the bed, which unlike mine, was neatly made and unslept in.

I crossed my arms and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "So what'd you want to talk about?"

He averted his eyes and pulled something out of the dresser by his bed. "I stole this out of Headmistress' office after you went in to talk to her after the fire."

With his hand, he opened my own and placed something cold inside. It was the leftover pieces of the bloodstone.

After a moment, I said, "Why did you-?"

"I don't know," He told me. "I just thought that Ellen was pushing too far for what she wants, and I don't think you deserve that,"

"Well, thank you," I looked up and met his eyes. I wasn't sure if anything could be done with it, but it was the thought that counted.

"And..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, which was totally out of character for Dimitri, and sat down gently on the edge of the bed. "There's something else," He patted the side of the bed telling me to sit down next to him.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously.

He hesitated. "I heard you talking to Eddie - over spring break,"

After a second, I spoke. "What day?"

"The first day we got there," I didn't look at him and he didn't look at me. We stared straight ahead and fell into a not-awkward silence.

So that meant that Dimitri knew. He'd known for 2 weeks now and hadn't said anything. How was I suppose to get out of this one? I'd already admitted to it...

"Rose..." He whispered, after a few minutes.

"Why didn't you tell me that? You've known for weeks now!" I yelled, standing.

"I thought you might confide in me, Rose! I was waiting for you to come talk to me because you already had it off your chest! It's kind of disappointing to _me_ that you wouldn't tell me something like that!"

"Eddie's my best friend-" I protested.

"I know that." He said, lowering his voice. I didn't know what to say anymore.

I felt my eyes start to tear but refused to let any fall. "Why did you sleep with me?"

"I wasn't planning to, trust me." He said hiding a smile. "I just wanted you to see that you could trust me. That if maybe you saw that I was on your side that you might sit down and talk to me. But you...do things to me," He cleared his throat. "Can you talk to me now? We can pretend that we never had this conversation." He asked.

I looked up and sat back down, preparing myself for hell.

* * *

><p>I pushed my salad around the white plate with my fork, my face totally blank. Things with Dimitri had been...interesting. He let me talk with interrupting once, but he wore that cute confusedunderstanding face the entire time. He nodded in all the right places and asked all the right questions when needed. It seemed almost rehearsed.

But of course, the second I finished the story the bell rang for lunch and Dimitri kicked me out saying that he needed some time to think. I knew he already knew the story, but I gave him all the details that I never gave Eddie, like talking to Adelina, learning about Anna and James, why I went to Malta... He seemed almost shocked to hear about the possession.

Maybe it was just that - shock. In a few hours it would wear off and he would come running into my arms saying that he would do anything to help.

Of course, that wouldn't fix our relationship problems, but whatever. We'd figure something out.

"Rose? Are you okay?" I heard Lissa ask as she slid into her chair, pushing a tray of what looked like Orange Chicken onto the table.

I threw my fork down and leaned back. "Yea."

"Because that's convincing," Christian said sarcastically sitting next to Lissa.

"Hey guys," Avery said as she took her seat next to me.

"I need to tell you something-" I said spontaneously, not thinking. "I'm being haunted by a bunch of vamps that died a long time ago," I spat out like I had no control over my body.

Wait - what did I just say? Why did I say that? I closed my eyes and mentally kicked myself.

I saw Eddie smile in the corner of my eye.

"What?" Lissa asked after a moment.

Totally confused, I stood up with my plate and tossed it into the nearest trash can. "Never mind. I'm not...thinking right." I was able to get out.

The air around me was closing up and I couldn't breathe straight. My breaths were strained and panted as I walked painfully towards the glass doors.

Rain was coming down harder then I thought it was. In fact, it was coming down so hard, so fast, that it _hurt_. At first I thought that it was hail - when does it hail in April anyways? - but when I turned my head down to the ground, the chunks of ice weren't melting.

They hit the ground and shattered into tiny pieces when little _pinging_ noise. Thousands of _pinging_ noises all around me. Other students in the courtyard with me had also stopped to look at the odd rain, and then run under the awing to watch it poor. Except me, I didn't. When examining the chips closer, which only took a few seconds, I found that it wasn't ice, but-

_- Glass_.

I froze and stood from my bent position from the ground and peered at my hand. Little slashes were being made into my skin every millisecond. I gasped and turn my head to the sky. Tiny shards of glass were pouring from the cloudy sky. And while my entire body was being cut into the glass, and blood was pouring from those cuts painfully, it was beautiful at the same time.

The sun was peaking from behind the clouds and reflecting on the glass, making it shimmer in the light. It was a white rainbow was gleaming across the air.

"Ow," I gasped when the ache finally hit me. I was drawn from the sky and stared at my skin. Blood was dripping from my arms and legs and my flesh was barely noticeable anymore.

And it _hurt_.

My vision blurred and I swayed. The blood loss was getting to me. I couldn't stand anymore.

I lost my footing and blacked out on cement.

* * *

><p>The loud buzz of the air conditioning starting up threw me into consciousness. I felt the air blow my body causing a chill to push through me. My eyes opened slowly and for the dozenth time in my life, I saw the gray ceiling of the infirmary rooms. I groaned and turned on my side, seeing that I was in the same room as last time.<p>

I felt no pain on my body but yet there were still a few bandages wrapped around my arms and legs.

"You awake, Darling?" Groggily, I pushed up on my arms into a sitting position and leaned my head against against the wall behind the bed. I nodded.

A guy walked into the room wearing a black shirt, jeans, and a lab coat that most doctors tended to wear. He had bleached looking blonde hair that reached just beneath his ears and extremely bright green eyes. A pinkish-red color was dyed onto the tips of his hair. He wasn't hot, but not bad looking either.

"Uh huh," I answered.

He sat on the metal chair in the corner with a clip board and looked at me.

"How do you feel? Cut up? Bruised?"

I shook my head. "No. I feel fine. Just tired,"

"Well, your friend Ivashkov came in earlier claiming to be your boyfriend and fixed you up."

"Really?" I mentally groaned and rolled my eyes. "Not true,"

"I figured," He stood and walked over to me.

"Are you new here? I haven't seen you around before," I asked.

He nodded. "You're here a lot?" I smiled.

"M'hem. More often then healthy," He smiled and handed me the clipboard.

"Sign here," He said, pointing to the line at the bottom of the page.

"Where's Dr. Olenski?" I asked, printing my signature.

"Family emergency, I think." I handed him back the clipboard. "Kay', you're set." He handed me a pile of clothes and jumped up to leave the room.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked, last second.

"Dr. Rkie-" He started.

"Oh no, don't bother with formalities. I don't use em'," He laughed.

"Micah,"

"I'm Rose. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each a lot,"

* * *

><p>This was the second time something odd had fallen out of the sky. First blood, now glass. Both dangerous, one more than the other. I cringed as I walked out of the infirmary doors, remembering the amount of blood that had come out of me.<p>

The ground was dirt and grass and frost. No glass or blood remained on it. I'm sure the guardian's had just assumed it was hail that had melted and therefore was no longer here, and I just got the worst of it. After all, Micah hadn't questioned me on _how_ I'd gotten hurt.

Of course Adrian had pranced in there happy to see someone new to gloat his affection for me over. I'd have to remember to elbow him later.

I wondered what Dimitri though had happened. I mean, he knew now that odd things were happening around St. Vlad's.

I avoided people as I walked up to my room and unlocked the door. Dimitri's aftershave still lingered in the room and I closed my eyes, breathing it in. I unwound my scarf and threw it onto my bed.

I flipped on the light in the bathroom and walked in. Turning on the water, I let it sit for a minute to heat up. I lifted my head a looked into the mirror, my eyes flickering to the reflection of the bathtub in the corner of the mirror. Starring at the red stains on the white glass wide eyed and mouth hung opened, my stomach flipped and I screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>Not my finest chapter, but whatever, I was feeling random.<br>**

**I haven't gotten many ideas for my 'Christmas Special', featuring Rose and Dimitri! Please review with some ideas! Remember guys, It takes time to write and Christmas is 3t.h.r.e.e. days away :D  
><strong>

**So the next update will be in 2012! Happy New Year's guys!**

_.xelisax._


	20. Just Close Your Eyes

**Just Close Your Eyes**

The smell was the worst. I mean, sure, a pool of blood was filling up the bathtub, but that was an image that'd I'd seen before in horror movies, or even close to the Badica murder...but I'd never experienced a smell so wrenching. The irony, metallic, ocean spray odor filled my nose, making me nauseous. My stomach flipped in a million directions and I felt my throat lurch as if I was going to throw up.

Well, no. The smell wasn't the worst. The worst was that her eyes...they were still opened.

A thin sheen of white gloss cover her pupils and the green irises stared off into no apparent space. I covered my mouth with my hand as I realized that - with the blond silky hair - this could be Lissa. She could be dead.

But no, it wasn't Lissa. It was...a girl that I had in my self defense classes. I never talked to her or even acknowledged her existence. She was the quiet one that didn't have many friends and tended to stay in the corner with a book. The worst of it would be that nobody would care that she was dead.

And I'd never even bothered to learn her name.

It was hard to even see her body with the amount of blood that swam around her, but I knew that she'd been wearing a white shirt and what looked to be either dark sweats or jeans.

Her clothes were tattered and pieces of cloth stuck to the sides of the white glass. In her limp hand...was a knife.

Did she do this? Did she murder herself - commit suicide - in my bathtub? Or was it the ghosts? Or maybe it was none of the above. Maybe the wards were broken and Strigoi were here. But then why would they stab her?

And when I saw the holes...the holes that revealed the inside of her body, that let the blood pour from her on her side, on her cheek, on her legs, on her arms...her entire body was destroyed, torn into... I couldn't do it anymore. I fell to my knees and braced myself on my hands, soaking them in splatters of red dots on the floor.

I could hold my alcohol pretty well, but this was...

My stomach lurched and everything I ate for lunch came up, slopping on the tile.

A few minutes later, I was covered with my own throw up and blood.

And then the guardians heard my scream, and came to my rescue.

* * *

><p>The last thing I remember before passing out was being picked up and carried, pressed against Dimitri's chest. When I woke up, I was laying on the hard carpet in the hallway outside my room. I felt clean, or well, cleaner then before. I no longer had blood on my hands and my mouth tasted fresh.<p>

Guardians were yelling at each other and running in and out of my room. I heard someone crying. Red flashing lights were going off in the hall and yellow tape was wrapped around the entire hallway. I heard the mumbles of voices of the girls who were kicked out of their rooms outside of the dorm.

It was a crime scene. A real one, just like in the movies.

Then I remembered why there was a crime scene. That dead girl. Her name came back to me...Meredith. Her name was Meredith.

And it didn't matter that she was dead to them, to the guardians. What mattered was _how_ she died. _Why _she died. Not that she probably had a family somewhere that would be devastated that she was gone. And gone so brutality too. I mean, it must have been painful. No matter who did it, who killed her, it would have been excruciatingly painful to be repeatedly stabbed everywhere on her body.

She couldn't have died in my bathtub though. I mean, maybe she took her last breath there, but if she was _murdered_ in my bathroom, then she would have screamed, and someone would have heard, like the guardians heard _me_ screaming.

In my mind, I came to the conclusion that she was killed elsewhere, like in the woods, and then someone brought her into my room while she was still alive to finish the job when she was too weak to scream. Of course, it was the _how_ and _why_ that mattered. Not the _who_.

Well, we had a plenty supply of video cameras on campus. It should be easy for them to find the culprit and at the same time see where she died. Of course, if this murdered was a solid person.

"Hun, are you okay?" A female guardian who'd I'd never seen before was leaning down next to my head.

"I'm dizzy," I answered.

"It's alright. That must of been pretty traumatizing. Dr. Rkielkyi is on his way to check you out. Just sit tight, alright?" I nodded, sitting up. As she walked off into my room, I knew what I was going to do. I had no intentions of staying put. I was going to find out who did this, if they were dead or alive.

I told myself at the beach house that I was going to fight back. This was step one.

* * *

><p>For the first time in a long time, I knew what I was looking for. I knew what I wanted.<p>

"Anna?" I called restlessly for the millionth time, circling around in the middle of the forest. I was just at the edge of the wards, searching for some form of sign that the ghosts were here.

Suddenly, a cold blast of wind hit me and I went skidding to the ground. I felt the skin at my palms and knees rip open as gravel and dirt filled the holes painfully. I hissed and rolled over on my side, my head hitting the ground. "Hello?" I yelled again. Despite the ache in my knees, I stood up and brushed my hands against my jeans.

"What do you want?" An annoyed voice asked. I whipped around and found Anna leaning against a tree only a few feet away from me.

"Anna-" I said quickly and out of breath. "I've been looking for you,"

I froze, taking in her appearance. Her black hair fell down to her waist and her features gradually became transparent down her to knees and fingertips. Now that I knew what she was, what she _really_ was, I was more hesitant to talk. I had no idea what she knew about me or my friends and I didn't want to take a chance. I needed her to think I trusted her.

"I know," She said. "But you still have crumbs of that god-awful stone in your pocket. It made it hard to get through to you,"

"I thought you said I should still be able to see you." I said after a moment, testing her.

"Well I thought wrong. I guess it applies to all ghosts, not just the bad ones. But we won't have to mess with that anymore I guess. It's gone."

"Right," I didn't bother mentioning that she _was_ a bad one.

"So what did you want me for?" She asked.

I took a deep breath before saying anything. "Well, there was a girl today, a Dhampir, who showed up death in my bathroom." I started.

"And you think I had something to do with it?"

"No! Of course not-" Lie. "-but I was wondering if you might know something. Like, who did it, or maybe even why?" I explained. I hoped I sounded convincing.

"Oh, wait. Was it that little blonde girl?" I gaped.

"Yea. Her name was Meredith-"

She cut me off. "Right. Names are unimportant. _I_ didn't have anything to do with it, but there are those spirits who are still willing to do anything to lure you over to their army." _Your_ army.

So Anna - or her minions - killed her. The dead were making more dead. It was almost too easy to put the pieces together in my head. Anna needed more people agreeing with what she was doing. Sure, she had the people that died during the attacks, but I'm sure a number of those people were against her motives. She needed more spirits on her side, so she's making - building - a new set of soldiers to train for her army. The newly dead wouldn't have any idea why, so they wouldn't fight the idea.

It was so easy to put together I was surprised she didn't know I was figuring it out.

But why would they kill them so brutality?

This was going to far. I mean, sure, scaring me, making me feel like I wasn't safe was one thing, but _killing_ innocent people, children even, was out of line. This was going to have to end, and soon.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not sure if that Christmas Special's gonna happen...I mean, I could publish what I have, but it's only like, 400 words and I have no desire to write the rest...sorry... :'C<strong>

**Sorry for the lack-of updating lately. Major writer's block.  
><strong>

xxelisabeth


	21. Calm Before The Storm

**_"_**_I_**_'m a_**_ su_**_r_**v**_i_**_v_**_o_**r**_._ I**_ a**i****n**'t go**n**na g**i**ve **u**p"_ **-** _Destiny Child**,**_ Su**r**v**_iv_**_o__r_

**Calm Before The Storm  
><strong>

* * *

><p>That night, I dreamed of everything that wasn't.<p>

A hellish heaven where kissing under the mistletoe was bad luck, and a broom would fly without a witch; where vampires drank strawberry juice and dolphins had opposable thumbs.

I just couldn't grasp reality anymore, what was real and what wasn't.

It all blurred together in a giant pile that I fell head first into, like I didn't need saving. I swam through the mixed memories and dug up the good ones. The ones of me and Lissa on Halloween. The ones with me and Dimitri, after he said no to Tasha. The ones with me and Christan bantering over dinner. It didn't clear the air, but it gave me something to hold onto.

It let me wake up.

* * *

><p>During the next week, when people would usually be rustling around campus, trying to get the latest dresses for prom, or laughing and talking about what they were going to do after high school, it was dead. No life, no laughter, or even smiling. Friends didn't wave in the halls, or talk at lunch. They just sat next to each other and copied off of the homework. People stayed locked in their dorms studying for SATs, or reading...<p>

Not that we couldn't...

Nobody said that our lives had to end when her's did.

The guardians didn't lock us away for our protection. They simply trusted us not to get into trouble, not to leave campus for parties and getting drunk.

After the truth about Meredith's murder had come out, it effected people more then you would think. People were scared to even open their lockers, afraid that a murderer would pop out. It was depressing. The guardians were positive that a student was the one that killed Meredith. Someone would have had to get past the wards without disrupting the guardians at the gates, and then disconnect the security cameras all around campus, get Meredith without being noticed, and then break into the dorms without the alarm going off. That was generally impossible without having access from the inside. So even if there was a person who got in, a student or teacher still would have had to help.

Of course, I knew that to be otherwise. A ghost _had_ gotten in, they just didn't know it.

"Rose?" Avery was standing in the doorway of my room, looking at me while I added A+B+C on my math homework.

"Hey,"

Correction. Avery knew. Avery was the one person who understood completely what was going on. Even though Eddie knew, he could help, not in the way she could. And Dimitri...well, the only time he had talk to me this week was at training. We hadn't gotten any free time in between yet to talk.

The first thing I saw when I put my pencil down and closed my math book was the bathroom door, like always. Every time I looked up from anything - my phone, computer, book, anything - it was the first thing I saw. I just couldn't divert my eyes from it. I could never look away. It was instinct to look there. I had to know if something - someone - was in there.

Kirova had, of course, offered me another room after the body was gone and the tile was replaced - it was too stained with the blood to keep in use - but I had declined. I knew if I was going to face the ghost, I would have to be able to still with the place of death. Just like Spokane. Like Mason.

Mason...

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Hope filled me.

I torn off my bed, rolling to the floor. I scampered up and pushed past Avery. She gasped when her back hit the metal door frame.

"Sorry! I swear we'll talk later!" I shouted down the hall.

* * *

><p>I stood just outside the cabin where I lost my virginity. It had been a whole lot of new for me. New feelings, new experiences, new love. But most of all, it was a new hope. It was the place that whenever I saw, I would bubble up inside and get happy for no reason. I felt happy for the sweat, for heat, for that tingle that flew through me when me and Dimitri kissed.<p>

It also was a new dread. Just outside this cabin, where I stood now, was the last place I saw my best friend.

Mason had warned me about what was to come. About the pain and suffering that I would go through. I just hadn't listened to him.

_"They're coming."_

I thought he meant the Strigoi, we all did. But he meant the ghosts and I knew it.

"Mason?" I called, my voice echoing off the trees, dissolving into the empty woods.

I knew Mason had passed on, but was that really true? After 40 days did dead spirits really pass on to the other side? I mean, Anna and Adelina had been here for centuries... I called out again

" 'Ring around the _Rosie_, pocket full of posy, ashes, ashes, we all fall dead',"

I would have laughed at the old lullaby if he hadn't change 'down' to 'dead'. I guess the word was more fitting anyways.

Mason, like I had predicted, was here, leaning against an oak tree, faded at the fingertips.

He looked...less dead, then when I saw him before. He could really talk now. And sing, apparently.

His hair looked twice as red as it use to be, and his freckles seemed to glow. His skin was bright and full of color. In fact, he looked more alive than ever. He was smiling and the sun reflected off his perfect white teeth. His eyes sparkled, a new-found feature. Whereas before, they were dull. That old _home_ feeling filled me. The familiarity of it hurt.

"Mason," I whispered. I ran up to him and flung my arms around him. Unfortunately for me I bashed right into the tree.

"Woah! I'm not solid, Rosie. You can't touch me, remember?"

"Ah..." I groaned and stumbled backwards. His hands brushed past my shoulders, as if to settle me. "Ow," I tasted blood in my mouth where it was dripping from my nose.

"You okay?"

I forgot my nose. "Mason!" I felt my eyes tearing. I ran a hand through his arm, coming back empty.

After a minute, he smiled even more and pushed off the tree. "Hey Rose."

I gasped for air as I choked on a laugh, the first and a single tear falling. "I miss you!" I cried.

"Please don't cry," He said. "I hate when you cry."

I swallowed and breathed in, clearing my tears. "I'm happy, not sad," I smiled. "I didn't think I'd be able to find you."

"You'll always find me, Rose. We're besties, 'Member? We're connected for life..." He raised an eyebrow. "And death,"

I slid down to the ground and leaned my head against the tree.

"I suppose you wanted to find me for a reason, huh?" He sat down next to me, but the leaves didn't crack under his weight. He had none.

I giggled, suppressed on happiness. "You know, if you're suppose to be transparent and stuff, why don't you just go right through the center of the earth?" I asked, leaning my head up and over to look at him. With a faint smile, he looked at me. Like, _looked_ looked at me. Like, as in a What-The-Hell-Do-You-Want kind of look. After a pause of silence, I turned away and stared at the sky with my eyes close. "I know, I know. I just..." I sighed and opened my eyes. "You're here...and I just want to focus on the happy, instead of the sad. I just want to ignore life, oh, excuse me,_hell_, for one second, and let the sun shine on me."

Of course, he wasn't having that.

"Rose...you know that I'm not - I'm not really here. I may be smiling, and talking, but I am, and always will be, dead." I looked down at my hands and nodded.

"I know..."

But he let it go then, for just a few minutes. And that few minutes became a few hours, and then night fell, and we talked about everything.

I told him about the field experience, and how I visited the queen - and about how Victor tried to out me and Dimitri. I told him about the lust charm and about Lissa and Christan always supporting me. I told him about everything that had happened since the beginning of the year, even though he'd been there through half of it.

I thought he'd know about the ghosts, about Anna...but he didn't, so I told him about how I passed out on the plane ride to Court, and how I saw Lissa's parents, and Victor's guards...

I told him about the attacks, and how bad it was. I told him that I really did love Dimitri, but we were complex. I told him about Adelina's story, and seeing a Strigoi-eating-Strigoi, and falling through the docks, and seeing Anna, and going to Malta, and talking to Vladamir, and how Anna wanted me dead, so she was killing other people.

I ended in sobs, racked against the tree, hugging it through Mason's reflection. He pretended to hold me and tell me that things would work out, but we both knew that he was lying.

"I swear, if there is anything, and I mean _anything_, I can do...then ask me. If you need a double agent, I'm here. I promise." He said, staring at me. I nodded.

Then I remembered seeing Avery this morning...

"Actually...there might be something..." I trailed off, thinking.

"What is it?"

"There's this girl...her name is Avery."

"Uh huh?"

"And she's not completely...alive," His eyebrows creased. "You see, she was killed in a car accident last year, but her body sort of...came back. She can talk and walk and all that, but she doesn't need to eat, or breathe, or drink, or sleep...It's like she's just a body. She has a personality, but no soul..."

"So she's...like a zombie?" I laughed.

"That's what I said. But yeah, pretty much. I have so much stuff going now, I've sort of forgotten about it. But if she's like me, then I know that we wants answers, she just won't press it."

"Well, I've got some connections over in the dead world." He said, moving to shove my should with his, but stopped. "I'll make some calls...well, not literally, but you know what I mean."

"Do you have to go now?" I asked staring off into the dark trees. A brush shifted in the wind. Or...?

He nodded.

I'd just have to remember that nothing lasts forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Anna's POV<strong>

I was tired of games. I was tired of playing the good guy. I was so tired, in fact, that it was getting harder and harder to fool her. I listened to them talk. She knew everything. She knew about me and the war. I had lost. No matter what I did, she didn't tear apart. She always had a solution, or a plan.

I had failed. Vladamir. I snared at the word in my mind. We'd been the best of friends, family, lovers...but now he'd betrayed me in the afterlife. He broke my heart, ripped it in two. He told her that I was crazy, insane, mental, and while that might have been true, at least I had a reason to be.

I wasn't the only crazy one around here and we all knew it. Well, I did.

This wasn't about war, or revenge on the guardians for not saving my kind. Maybe it was for the others, but they didn't know my motive. They didn't know what he did...

I stared in distaste. The friend, the red-head, he was key. He was her soft spot. Killing a million of her closest enemies would break her...but killing someone whose already dead...?

And if that didn't work, then I could always move to the blonde...

* * *

><p><strong>I guess nobody liked the last chapter? I don't blame you, it wasn't my piece of cake either - D: Like I said, Writer's Block. No inspiration.<strong>

**I really need to get back on my update schedule...  
><strong>

**I've done it, though! I've finally dug myself out that hole I made. I have an ending to this story and every chapter in between! :D 35 chapters straight...and an epilogue :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**

**EXTRA: the very short never finished/published Christmas special that has nothing to do with this story...**

A Christmas Special: _"This isn't a Christmas special! This is my life. In the real world, miracles and goodness just don't happen.", "In the real world, you can make your own miracles."_ -Frostbite

* * *

><p>"What?" I asked stupidly after a second.<p>

"Serious, though! It would explain why children tend to go missing during the holidays," Christian offered from across the room. We - Christian, Lissa, Eddie, Dimitri, and me - sat next to each other around the tiny white living room at Lissa's apartment in court. The Christmas tree was placed in the corner, glowing with multicolored ornaments and lights. Tiny decorations lined shelves and tables, and a bright fire was lit in the fire place.

After things went down with Tasha, and me and Dimitri regained our guardian status, we went our separate ways when Lissa starting attending Leigh. But now, it was Christmas Eve and we'd all met again for the holidays.

"So you think..." I paused for emphasis. "That kids go missing because _of Santa?_"

Christian scowled at my disbelief. "C'mon Lis, you believe me, right?"

"Well..." She hesitated, searching for the right words so she wouldn't hurt his feelings. "Sure, on a...smaller level then you seem to be." Mental facepalm.

I sighed. "What she means is that there is no way in hell that Santa Claus is real, and even if he was, he wouldn't be an evil vamp that steals children when he goes down their chimneys so he could turn them into vampire helper elves. Kay'?" I stated bluntly.

"You, Hathaway, have no Christmas spirit," He spat, tossing an M&M at me. I caught it and stuck it in my mouth.

I smiled. "Actually, I think it's quite the opposite,"

. . . .

I laid in bed twirling the sheets around my fingers waiting for Dimitri to get out of the shower.

It was Christmas morning now and after I got ready we'd be heading back to Lissa's for lunch and presents. Of course, last night me and Dimitri gave each other our own presents, mostly consisting of a full night in bed, naked, and tangled up in each other, having to change the sheets multiple times.

I heard the shower door click open as the water shut off, and a few minutes later, Dimitri appeared with the steam from the water filling the room.

"Did I wake you up?" He asked, realizing that I was staring at him.

"No." I answered simply. "Merry Christmas," I said, snuggling down into the pillows.

"Mm, Merry Christmas, Roza," He climbed onto the bed still in only jeans and kissed me gently.

* * *

><p><strong>right then... :\<br>**


	22. Midstory Interval

Inspired by _Kaleidoscope by Dustland-Fairytales_ and _500themes_

**Why They Call It Falling...  
><strong>*interval

**Anna's POV**

_*1562_

_I've never understood why they call it 'Falling' in love, when really, it doesn't feel like that. If you were falling, then you'd be falling upwards, which really isn't falling at all. It's more like floating, flying, feeling high up and escalated, knowing that everything was perfect and safe, which has nothing to do with the connotation of the word 'falling'. __Love wasn't like you were falling. Falling was the concept of getting hurt._

_And then I realized that that may be the very reason people called it 'falling'._

_Because falling is something that you cannot control. It's wild, and fast, and ripping. I knew better than anybody that you can't control what - who - you fall in love with._

_But the harder you fall, the higher you fly._

_And I knew that I was going to fly as high as I could, and then be dropped from the sky and falling flat on the ground with broken bones and a scarred soul. But isn't it the things you see coming that surprise you the most?_

_So when Vladimir fell for someone else...I let myself go and let the darkness take over. It was his fault. It always would be, and he would always be to blame for the lives lost._

_*Present. Malta Italy.  
><em>

Taking over bodies was a specialty, you could say. I knew the human mind, I knew how to manipulate it to my advantage. I could push it around under there was a hole big enough for me to fit into. A Witch's mind was a bit more complex, but after they were unconscious I could simply push the magic away with no trouble at all.

Now, I sat in the middle of Kalkara Naval Cemetery in Valletta, waiting for the sun to go down, stuck in the widely minded body of The Witch Reina - a powerful Asian witch with a gift for seeing the dead. I held a glowing glass orb in my hand, which swirled with colors of the rainbow.

"_E__ Lucis Tenebrae ut ego suscitabo mihi populus, mortuum in terram, spiritus vero vivit. Sed cum immortales spem meis hospitibus ac maledicam __mortem._" The sunset disappeared into the earth. The witch's thick hair flew around me as I started the incantation, startling the dead. The Guardian's may have taken Vladimir's body, but his spirit still remained here, along with the bodies of the dead that died at St. Vladimir's during the war.

"_Reddo mortuos suos conchis et extolle spirituum male agentes eis novum__ lumen_."The ground below me shuddered with life. I stared down at the white cloth in front of me on the ground. Drawn on it was a black circle with 5 lines. One for Water, Fire, Air, Earth...and Spirit.

"_Praeter munera mea_." I grabbed the silver blade and slid it across my hand, letting the blood pour onto the lines.

"_Ecce __iam mortum._" I placed the short red hair onto the pool of blood and watched it sink.

"_Et eripe animam separatam, facie ad novum, nova vita._" Picking up the qlipoth branch - the branch for the dead - I snapped it in two. The pieces burned to ashes in my hands and blood staining the white cloth boiled.

A moment later, it sunk into the earth, and the hair was gone. The spell was over, and but the effects were just getting started.

* * *

><p>-ELISABETH<p>

**So now...we are to the beginning of the end. Expect longer chapters, more characters, and answers :)**

But please, REVIEW. I've gotten like, 3 reviews for the past 4 chapters. I just need to know that people are still reading this xx This was like...a test chapter, sort of... just to see if someone would react to the shortness.


	23. Letters From Nowhere

**Letters From Nowhere**

_'"I on my part give up the uncertainty of eternal rest and go out into the dark where may be the blackest things that the world or the nether world holds!"'_

I stared at the piece of ripped notebook paper nailed to my door; the ragged handwriting sprawled in tiny letters across the lines, filling every space, staring at me, taunting me to touch it. The note, the...whatever, it was - a warning or something - had been written quickly as the words seemed rushed. I had to read them at the speed they had been written, fast and messy.

There were black ink blots where whoever wrote it had gotten frustrated and stabbed the thin paper. I could just imagine the ink seeping through the material and staining the wooden door...

"What is that?" Eddie asked next to me. I tore it from the door quickly, leaving the nail in place.

"Nothing, just a prank." I pushed the door open and through my backpack on my bed. With my back to him, I unfolded the note once more and studied the words. I recognized the quote from _Dracula_, which I had to read freshman year for English. Why would they be taunting me with fiction?

* * *

><p>"How <em>could you<em>, Rose?" Lissa pounded through the classroom door right when the bell rang. Chatter arose from everywhere - friends talking, couples using their 5 minutes between class to make out, teachers calling students out for not turning in their homework - so no one heard her accusation.

I turned to her once I finished getting my bag from the floor.

"Lissa-" She shoved me into the chair behind me and threw my bag back onto the desk. I gasped at her force and stared up at her gaping. In the corner of my eye I saw a guardian step forward from the back of the room, observing us. Probably making sure that nothing violent started.

"How could you keep me from this? Why wouldn't you tell me?" She shouted, now getting a bit louder then the students filing out of the room. A few headed turned.

"I thought you trusted me!" She started again.

In the back of my mind I felt her emotions. I saw her looking through my eyes. I saw her looking at Mason. I knew she knew now. But how did she...could she

"Lissa, let's just go-"

"No, I want you to explain right now! I'm tired of being your second choice, your backup plan when things don't go right! In fact, it seems like you come to me these days when something's wrong!"

I sighed and looked down. The classroom was almost empty now. "How did you find out?" I asked softly.

"Miss Dragomir, Miss Hathaway, if you don't hurry you'll be late for your next class." I stood up and shoved past Lissa, grabbing my bag with one hand and her wrist with the other, pulling her out of the room and out into the hall.

Standing against the lockers, looking into her eyes, I took a breath, about the speak. I just wasn't expecting what she did next.

I saw her hand raise, and the next thing I knew my hair whipped across my face. A sharp pain hit me, leaving a throbbing sensation in my cheek. My mouth widened as everything clicked into place. I heard the slap, and I'm pretty sure that everybody else did too. A few people stopped walking to stare.

I looked up, my cheek no doubt red, and saw Lissa staring down surprised at her own hand.

Then I felt it. In the deepest corners of her mind, darkness clouded her vision. In fact, the cloud was so thick, I couldn't see anything else. I knew she'd been practicing with Adrian, but I didn't know it'd gotten this bad. I slowly pulled at it, connecting our minds.

The burning sensation filled me, piling into my mind. I felt her anger and hatred and _sadness_ toward me. It took over me.

She was mad, I was mad, two strong fumes shouldn't have been in the same room.

Against my will, I shoved her backwards. I felt myself protesting...

Her eyes flamed.

"Ladies!" Alberta's voice slammed me out of my thoughts and I felt the darkness draining out of me a second later. "Whatever is going on here, I'm sure, can be finished in my office." I inhaled slowly, watching Lis' shocked face.

I never saw the pained face behind me.

* * *

><p>So when it came down to it, me and Lissa had been let off with a warning.<p>

We left her office with pained expressions. When the door closed we immediately turned to each other.

"I'm so sorry!" She started.

"Lissa, don't..." I cut her off. "It was Spirit, you know that."

She looked down her her hands. "I'm sorry I slapped you," I couldn't help but be amused.

"I'm sorry I shoved you," I replied lightly.

And again, I felt that pulling sensation, as if telling me that I needed to see something, but when I turned around, nothing was there.

* * *

><p>It was official. Adrian found out first, then Eddie, then Dimitri, then Lissa, and of course Lissa told Christian.<p>

Everyone knew now. Even Alberta. And my mom. And Kirova.

Well...Abe didn't...

_Hey, do you wanna mess with them?_

Lissa said through the bond at dinner. She was referring to our fight in the halls. Everybody had seen it and wasn't sure if we were still arguing or not. Everybody knew not to get between me and Lis when we were mad at each other. It got...messy. So now, it was awkward. Nobody was speaking to each other in fear of making one of us even madder.

I grin at her in response.

I put on my best serious face at stared at her. She glared, throwing her fork down into her salad, faking upset. I swear this girl could be an actress.

Adrian seemed to notice our change in attitude first and shoved Eddie so he would look up.

"Babe..." Christian said hesitantly.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you!" She shouted, pushing her chair back and standing.

"Maybe if you weren't such a bitch we wouldn't be having this problem!" I yelled.

The look on Christian's face was priceless. I don't think he'd ever heard his girlfriend swear.

After a few more verbal lines thrown, I think they were about to call the police. I guess our fight was about to surpass a PG-13 rating.

So we burst out laughing.

* * *

><p>After dinner and another scolding from Alberta about dinning etiquette, I retired to my dorm.<p>

A knock on my door forced me from my homework.

"Dimitri?" I asked puzzled. I'd barely talked to him in a week. Not since we had our_ conversation_. I stuck my head out and checked both ends of the hall. When I didn't see anybody coming or leaving, I pushed the door open wider and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the room.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've never seen you wear jewelry before." Confused, I followed his eyes to a small brown wooden jewelry box on the desk behind us. I didn't have a jewelry box, did I?

I couldn't hold back my flinch this time. That wasn't entirely true.

He lifted the lid. When he saw what lay there, nestled in the black velvet, he froze, going as still as a statue. I wasn't sure he was even breathing any longer.

Inside the box was a necklace. A glittering diamond rose on a gold chain. Under it was a note.

_Rose — _

_"He seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts all! The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateliness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their dismissal from the desolate shore, all turning on him eyes that were changed by the death they had died in coming there."_

__—_ Listen To Me  
><em>

I looked down, gazing at my feet. Dimitri was careful not to touch the necklace, instead tracing his finger around it.

"You kept it," he said, though he was so breathless I almost didn't catch what he said.

"No. I didn't." I answered. I was just as confused as him. Why would any of the ghosts, excluding Anna and her twisted games, try to torment me with something I'd already come to terms with?

"This quote - it's from _Tale of Two Cities_." I'd never read it, although I think that the juniors had to. I hadn't been here... "How did you-"

"Why are you here, Dimitri?" I cut him off. "I'm tired of being rejected." I said firmly, changing the subject. I grabbed the box and shut the lid, stuffing it into a drawer.

"I-"

"No. Look, I gave you a week, just like you asked. You know what's happening now. If you won't accept it now, chances are you won't later, so if you could please just go." I interjected.

"Rose, I'm not here to push you away anymore."

I quipped. "Wait - what?"

"I've been thinking. A lot. I love you Rose. I don't want to lose you. And when I put my feelings next to what's going on they override everything. I'm tired of hiding. I want to be with you, no matter the consequence." I stared up at him, quiet.

"I love you too." I said after a moment.

We sealed it with a kiss.

"Roza..." He whispered against my lips. I smiled when he grasped my hips and pulled me closer to him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him again.

* * *

><p>Dimitri was asleep. I wasn't.<p>

It was almost 2 am and he'd just fallen into sleep. We stayed up talking and laughing and just pushing everything bad away, forgetting. So basically, our clothes were still on.

I was just settling in next to him, pulling the blanket up. My arm reached over for the light, but something at the window stopped me.

A shadow passed over the glass. I saw a hand and a foot. I froze.

Someone was out there, possibly watching us. Watching _me_.

I slowly kicked my feet over the mattress and shut off the lamp so there wouldn't be a harsh glare on the glass. I could out clearly. I saw the far off trees outside the wards and I saw the bushes and fallen tree limbs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary right now. I jumped backwards when something hit the window with a clash. I was surprised Dimitri was still asleep.

I walked over the window, one step at a time. I leaned over the glass peering out. I was shaking, barely noticeable.

No one was out there anymore. I check both sides, and up and down, and at the ground... the only thing that caught my eye was the rock that had been thrown at the window. _By whom, though?_ The thought captivated me.

I clicked the lock open and reached out to the ground, grasping the cool fist size rock in my hand. I turned it around.

In blood red letters...

_I'm looking at you right now._

I gasped and threw the window outside, slamming the window shut.

Icy fear crept into me, chilling me to my bones and making my brain go into overload. The hairs on my arms stood up and a drop of sweat fell onto the ground. I heard the drip onto the carpet. Everything was silent.

Everything that anyone had told me, about things turning out right, left my mind and I stood there. I couldn't stop turning in circles, trying to find the source of the message.

* * *

><p><em>I ran. Through the tall dark alleys and bright cities and underwater worlds and enchanted <em>_castles. I ran until I couldn't run anymore and then I kept running. My lungs were on fire and I was positive oxygen wasn't getting through my mouth anymore. All I knew was that something was following me and if I stopped it would get me. It would hurt me. Kill Me._

_Adrenaline rushed through my body and my pulse raced._

_'I'm Looking At You Right Now.'_

_The words ran through my head at an incredible speed._

_I hit something. I yelled out in pain as my head hit the ground. It was stone, brick. I looked up, ignoring the copper taste in my mouth. I sat up and pushed my fingers out. They hit a clear wall. I stood up and turned around. I was in a building. A warehouse actually. Dark cement walls and brick floors. It was opposite of what it should've been._

_"Hi. I'm Vasilisa. But please, call me Lissa." A small voice echoed into the room. Standing in front of me was a 5 year old Lissa. I was suddenly in my kindergarten classroom, watching from the back. The teacher was talking and Kindergarten me and Lissa were whispering something, trying not to laugh at whatever was being said. I couldn't recall the conversation._

_And suddenly, it was gone. I was standing in front of the academy. My mother held my hand. I was seeing through the eyes of a 4 year old. "Please mommy! What if I don't like it here?"_

_"Nonsense. You'll have lots of fun here. I promise."_

_I fell down. I hit the ground hard. My first defense lesson. Me and Mason were partners and we were suppose to try to hit each other as hard as we could. In any other circumstance, anyone would be happy to, but we were best friends. We only hit each other when we were mad._

_The air turned to smoke and dissolved around me. I was in a car, Lissa and Andre sitting next to me. Rhea and Eric were in the front, arguing over directions._

_It was too bright to realize what the lights heading straight towards us were at first._

_ People say these sort of things happen in slow motion, but for me it was faster than life. The tree seemed to appear out of nowhere, but I knew it had been there the whole time. Trees didn't just randomly grow. The car crashed straight into it and we tumbled over. The car rolled off the road down the hill. The roof had massive dents in it, the glass from all the tinted windows smashed inside. It pierced my skin and I could smell the blood._

_That's when my dream went weird; I was no longer seeing it from my point of view. It was when her fear was felt before hearing her scream. The scene was no longer of us in the car, my nightmare instead her nightmare flashed before my eyes. Her images, her memories tumbled through my mind: fire, blood, the bodies of Lissa's parents and guardians, bodies of her brother and me. The smell of smoke, the twisted metal remains of a car. The images were the aftermath of my own nightmare._

_This wasn't my dream. I forced myself to wake up. My forehead was damp with cold sweat, my breathing was ragged. Lissa was in her bed thrashing and still screaming, I was already at her side trying to shake her from sleep. But I wasn't really awake. I was dreaming that I was waking up.  
><em>

_Spokane. I was standing back in the warehouse. Mason was chained to a chair in front of me._

_"Look at me, Rose."_

_A sword fell into my hands. Without control, a demand shot into me. I wasn't Rose. I was Isaiah._

_The sword thrust forward...  
><em>

I woke up.

* * *

><p>When I woke, Dimitri was gone. The other side of the bed was cold, so I figured that he left a while ago.<p>

_Rose-_

I read from the note on the pillow.

_I'm subbing today so I had to leave early. I didn't want to wake you. You're peaceful when you sleep. See you tonight - Dimitri_

_Peaceful?_ I smirked. Anything but.

My phone buzzed from the charger. I unplugged it. '1 New Message from _Mason_'. I stared at it.

I tapped the screen and waited for the text to load.

**Can you hear me?**

I used my thumbs to type a quick reply.

**Eddie? Did you figure out his password?**

**It's me. Can you see me?**

**Who are you? **I was getting kind of freaked now. If this wasn't Eddie...

**It's me, Mason. I've been trying to talk to you for days now. Can you see me? I'm at the window.**

I turned slowly. Nothing out the window but bushes and a clear sky.

**No.**

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for <em>another<em> late update. I was grounded last week and had to write this whole thing today :)  
><strong>

**Thanks for all the reviews! :)  
><strong>

-Elisabeth xx


	24. Keep Your Enemies Closer

_A:N: I feel like I have to beg for reviews these days :( *sad_

**Keep Your Enemies Closer**

_third person_

To the unknown eye, it would seem like a crisp morning, the sun just peaking over the horizon. Trees drifting back and forth and tiny animals awaking from sleep. But to Anna it was more. She saw the wisps of color lifting from the ground, floating, wandering. Empty souls waiting for a command...

**. . . .  
><strong>

There was a sharp tingle at her fingertips and for a moment she thought that her arms were falling asleep, but when her heart jumped, filling with the same prickle as her fingers. Her jade eyes melted. She gasped...

**. . . .**

He awoke with a start, the sound of water droplets pulling him from sleep. A flash of red, crimson blood. A dark alley. He could feel his eyes change colors. He felt his mind close...

**. . . .**

Colors filled her vision. The flashback of the crash. Black hair everywhere. Grey, white, purple...screams and shouts and water... it took her over...

**. . . .**

Spirit. He broke. He threw the bottle across the room, scared of what he was becoming. He fell. "Right on the edge," Whispered into his ears...nothing left.

**. . . .**

She opened feeling into her soul. A new warmth that hadn't been felt in a long time. A dull pulsing pain in her left side...

**. . . .**

He ceased walking and dropped. His strength, control, was all forgotten. Thoughts left his mind. Only the pain remained. Someone pushing into him, stealing his identity. He pushed back...harder and harder...until his body broke.

**. . . .**

Adelina was taking this too far, and Anna, he thought. It was time to fight back. He couldn't just leave her to die, although it would cost him his life. But what was it that mortals said? _People only listen to you after you're dead._ He needed her to listen.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

"Mason?" I called gently from the window sill. "Are you there?" No answer.

I sighed and sat on the bed, re-reading the texts. I'd still gotten no reply. What was I doing? I mentally kicked myself. I was sitting here waiting for a reply from someone that was _dead. _He wouldn't even be able to pick up a phone, much less talk to someone. I was about to walk away when the something black bounced off the glass from outside.

I carefully lifted the screen again and reach down to pick up the small object.

It was a phone. Mason's phone.

* * *

><p>"Lissa! Lissa, open up!" I said, pounding on her door.<p>

My fist went down again but met empty air. My eyebrows creased when I saw her.

Her hair was wild and tangled and she was wearing sweat pants almost twice the size of her body, a thin tank top, and sunglasses.

"Lissa?" I questioned. "Are you hungover?" I asked surprised.

"No." She had an ignorant sound behind her voice, like she was some bratty 13 year old who didn't get to go see Breaking Dawn with their 20 year old boyfriend.

"Right," I said. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and then you can tell me since when you started drinking." I started to walk inside, but she walked past me, shoving my shoulder.

"Actually, I have plans."

"Dress like _that?_" I gaped. "What's your problem?"

"I don't have one." She asked, already half way down the hall.

"Where are you going, Lis?" I asked after a moment, kind of freaked at her sudden change in attitude. It wasn't like when spirit was controlling her. I could feel that, take it. But this...this was more like some sort of rebellion, which wasn't Lissa at all. Sure, I knew that she sometimes wished that she was more outgoing, but this was kind of extreme.

"God! If you must know, I'm meeting Christian," And then she was out the doors.

_That was strange..._

* * *

><p>I was surprised to get to the main hall and find a crowd of what must have been a hundred students. They were all shouting over one another, but a few words I did catch were<em> is he dead, <em>and, _give him some room__. _Both alarmed me. I pushed through the crowd, getting elbowed and shoved quite a few times.

In the center, Eddie was laying on the ground. His hair seem darker than usual and his hands were spread out beside him. Celeste was putting her hands on his chest. Her lips were...

Oh my god...

"Eddie!" I shouted, kneeling to the ground next to him. "What happened? Is he Ok?" I yelled over the loud voices.

"We don't know," She answered. "He passed out a few minutes ago," She returned to CPR. More guardians came and moved the students along to class. They let me stay. _Where was everybody else?_ I wondered.

My phone buzzed from my bag and I excused myself.

_Please be Mason, please be Mason._

**New Message From: Fire Crotch**

Ah, of course.

**Somethings up with Lissa.**

No freaking duh.

**She's your girlfriend, do something about it.** I typed quickly, wanting to get back to Eddie.**  
><strong>

**No, seriously. The church attic. Hurry****.**

There was an urgency in the words that I just couldn't ignore.

* * *

><p>The first few minutes in the church was silence. I got no replies from Christian or Lissa. The attic was empty.<p>

A loud thump from behind me startled me from my thoughts.

"So hungry...so hungry," I turned and walked slowly behind a pile of crates, probably filled with old books and antiques. There was a whimper.

"Lissa?" I asked hesitantly.

She was curled up, her arms grasping her legs and her head lying between her knees. She also wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Hungry," She moaned again. I knelt down next her.

"Okay. I'll take you to the feeders. C'mon," I said, gently placing my hand on her shoulder concerned.

Her eyes snapped to mine. The next thing I knew she was pushing me backwards on to the wooden ground, snarling - animal like. I gasped as the air was knocked out of me. I didn't have time to react before she was crawling on top of me and pushing my neck. I swear it broke. I felt her lips on my neck...

Panic tore through me as I tried to push her off. "Lissa! Stop it!"

The pain that came with needles pierced my skin. I flinched. But then, a tidal wave of pleasure washed over me...

Cold, salt water that burned my eyes, not sparkling spring water.

I sat up too quickly, making my head spin. My hands went to my neck and came back covered in blood. I looked up at the scene in front of me. Lissa was thrashing on the ground under Christian, blood - _my_ blood - staining her mouth. "Lissa!" He shouted over her screams.

My eyes went to his neck. 2 perfect holes...

I scrambled off of the floor and pushed him off of her. She was standing almost instantly, trying to pounce on me again.

"Hungry," I made out under her mumbles.

There was only one way to get her under control right now and I had a feeling I would regret it later.

* * *

><p>"Do you think she's alive?" I wasn't sure if Christian was joking or serious. Maybe a bit of both. I gripped my hand, which was starting to turn red. I just punched her probably harder than I'd ever hit anybody, which was a lot of people. She was now sprawled across the floor, limbs spread.<p>

"She'll be fine," I turned to him. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" I asked him. That sounded strange talking about Lissa.

"I'm fine," He replied. "Didn't get that much of a bite. What about you? That must hurt," He asked, sounding almost concerned. I'd gotten it a lot worse than him. Blood was soaking my jacket.

"I'll go to the infirmary later if it bothers you so much," I teased. "Now, tell me what happened?"

"Well, we were going meet up, you know...um, talk and stuff..." He started, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh-huh," I smiled smugly.

"Right," He cleared his throat. "A few minutes after we...um, finished talking..." I tried to raise an eyebrow but epically failed and resorted to raising both. "She kind of lost it and went crazy, going off about all this stuff about being hungry and wanting to eat." I frowned.

"Come on. Let's get her to the infirmary."

* * *

><p>They were, no doubt, going to put Lissa back on her pills after this. We explained the story to Micah and he pretty much looked at us like we were crazy.<p>

"Moroi don't drink other types of blood." He explained, eyebrows creased. "That's the exact thing that makes them Strigoi. I think maybe your confused with-"

"If she _didn't_ try to drink my blood, then how the hell did _this_ happen?" Christian exasperated pointing to the bite marks. Dr. Olenski sat behind him, removing a bandage to put over the holes after disinfecting it. Mine was still wide opened and burning.

"They have a point Dr. Rkielkyi. I've seen strange things here, I wouldn't be surprised if some supernatural essence _did_ do something to Miss Dragomir." She pointed out. She moved over chairs in the room to work on my wound. I hissed when she pressed an anti-disinfectant pad to the bite. Lissa was laying on the plastic bed beside us, still unconscious. Micah was checking for signs of concussion.

She finished washing the blood off my skin and stood. "Well, I need to check on Mr. Castile, so if you'll excuse me,"

"Wait, is he okay? Did you figure out what happened?" I asked.

"Well, he's been drifting in and out of consciousness for hours now, but the times he's awake is getting longer. We aren't really sure what's causing it, but we've been running some tests that hopefully will come back within the hour."

"Will you come get me when he wakes up again?" I asked.

She nodded. "But I warn you, his condition still isn't the best. He's pale and weak. He might not want to talk,'

I was about to open my mouth to reply when the alarms sounded, red lights flashing into the room.

* * *

><p>Campus was a literal hell.<p>

Guardians shoving students and teachers into every room possible, shouting orders and locking doors. The red lights were giving me a headache. I scanned the hallways for Dimitri but came up empty.

"Rose! Get to your dorm!" Alberta shouted from across the hall.

"I'm helping!" I argued. She scowled but ran over to me anyways.

"Just because the wards are broken doesn't mean there's a Strigoi on campus," She explained. "A number of things could've set them off, but right now we need to search the outer walls of the academy." What she did next was shocking, even for me. She placed a silver stake and a small radio transmitter in my hands. "Me and a few other guardians are heading to the east wall. You can take the west,"

I nodded and made my move to turn, but she grabbed my arm. "I wouldn't be letting you do this by yourself if I didn't think you couldn't protect yourself. Don't be stupid and _don't_ get killed, okay? This isn't a hero mission,"

"I know,"

* * *

><p>The woods were quiet compared to the school. I could still make out the faint wailing of the sirens but so far no Strigoi sights had been spotted. I let out a breath and lent back on the wall, resting my head.<p>

What the hell was going on here? Lissa's mental, Eddie's practically in a coma, and I haven't seen anybody else since yesterday. Was I the _only_ sane one around here? No wait, I take that back. I'm not sane at all. In fact, I'm probably more crazy than all of them put together.

The only person right now acting normal was Christian.

God, it feels weird even thinking it...

I heard a crunch of leaved beside me and I froze. I gripped at the stake in my hand and pressed my finger on the talk button of the radio, ready to make a move.

3, 2, 1...

I didn't even move a finger before I was thrown to the ground, someone's weight on top of me. The radio was torn out of my hand but I still had the stake. I made myself open my eyes, staring up into crimson eyes... I shrieked and thrashed, trying to get my arm free.

I threw my leg up and pounded into the knee of my opponent, able to get the upper hand and flip us. I held the stake to his throat, about to slash through.

"Rose," The Strigoi panted. I looked at him first time...

Red eyes, surrounded by purple glitter and eyeliner; black hair, half spiked and half down. Leather pants and boots...

"James!" I gasped.

"I'm giving you..." He swallowed. "Three seconds to remove that stake from my neck before I really do kill you,"

"Oh!" I scrambled up from him and sat back on the grass. "Why would you come here?" I exclaimed. "Were you _not_ thinking?"

"Yes, what were you thinking?" A new voice entered the room - or well, area. My head shot up at the familiar voice and panic filled me.

"Abe..."

* * *

><p><strong>So I may be shortening this to 25-30 chapters. Actually, I am. I cannot think of any good filler chapters so I've decided to get to the main event.<strong>

**Anyways, I hoped you liked it! Please REVIEW! :D  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth  
><strong>


	25. Nobody Mourns The Wicked

_I apologize for the long wait. I went to save the chapter and the message says 'you must be logged in to save this'. I practically ripped my hair out and ate it. But it's not a big deal, this is only a filler chapter anyways.  
><em>

**Nobody Mourns The Wicked**

_Adrian_

The bottle exploded when it collided with the corner of the granite counter in his kitchen. Glass flew across the room, sliding on the floor and bounding abruptly off the walls. The fuzzing liquid - alcohol - splattered onto him and the floor, soaking his clothes and hair. It ran onto the floor, dripping off the counter, flowing in all directions.

_What is wrong with_ _me_? He thought drunkenly.

He couldn't keep a drink in his hand. Every time he would lift the bottle it would be like two of the same poles retracting each other. It would be forced, torn, from his hands and thrown across the room. And all though he hadn't had a single drink in two days, locked in his room, he had the most pounding hangover ever. He'd never experienced a headache like this before.

He reached for a towel, but lost all control over himself. He collapsed to the floor in pain, and that was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

><p><em>Lissa<em>

She was in a hole. A really big, dark, hole. She couldn't tell if she was floating or falling or flying, but any way she couldn't feel a single thing. Her body was just an object with no emotion or pain. The only thing she could hear was the soft humming of the silence. _Where am I?_ She asked herself.

She couldn't remember a single thing about herself or who she was. She couldn't recall any memories or names. _Who was she_?

The only thing she could feel was a force being pressed on her, squeezing her into herself. The pressure was not something that she hadn't felt before but when it was the only thing you _could_ feel, it was the only thing you could focus on.

The hunger.

* * *

><p><em>Eddie<em>

He was being pulled in two directions - towards light and towards dark. The darkness was what he wanted. He wanted to get lost in the black blankness of nothing and just not feel; to repress the pulsing ache in his body. But the light, he knew the light was the place he was needed. The light needed help to not be dark. The light was crumbling. Tumbling.

But to be light was to be pain...whereas darkness was so inviting, peaceful. That high feeling that never went away.

But if he left to the dark he would never see light again. Light and dark were just two sides of the same coin. If he were to turn to the darkness then he would be the light to guide the lost souls. But if he went to the light then he would just be a black hole, sucking and taking away from the light that was left.

Either way, he would be in pain.

* * *

><p><em>Avery<em>

Smoke. Twisted metal.

The memories filled every corner of her. She felt the suffocation of the water in her lungs, the burning cold ice in her eyes. The car floating slowly downwards, carrying her parents and sister. She felt the world around her start to disappear and her body go numb. She felt herself die again...

And she felt herself wake up on the river bank, no car, no family, no people.

She felt the emptiness of her loss and death.

Why was she here?

But now...afterwards, she felt her whole body shake and tumble as something warmer came into her. She felt whole and new and unbroken as she had before. She had a soul...even if it wasn't hers.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

I tore myself away from James, landing on the ground next to him. To anybody who hadn't witnessed the story before hand would have gotten the completely wrong idea about why I was - ahem - straddling him. Wiping the dirt off of my knees I stood, staring at Abe in silence.

"Oh no, carry on. I don't want to intrude on any-" He cleared his throat. "Private affairs,"

"Abe, you're getting the wrong picture here, trust me." I said, picking my words carefully.

"Is that so?" He asked wearily. "I really don't care. I just want to know why my daughter is _conversing_ with a Strigoi."

"This is...um, different." I said, searching for the right word.

"Different in a 'I'm in love with him'-" I swallowed grimly. "way?"

"No. We're...friends..." My mind went back to the beach where we first met. _"And you won't see me again, just so you know. I don't want nor need friends. I just wanted to meet you. The girl who will lead a dead army._"

Which brought me back to the question of why he was here. He deliberately told me he didn't want to see me again but here he was...and now my father thinks I'm having an affair with him. A heard a throat clearing behind me.

"Well, I believe that's my cue..." James said rubbing at the spot where I almost stabbed him.

"Cue for what?" I asked.

"To leave. And you're coming with me."

"Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere with you! No way, you can't just show up here and tell me what to do!" I exclaimed.

"Please Rose. It's important. As in-" He nudged his neck sideways. "_that_ kind of important." I raised my eyebrows.

"_That _kind of important? What, are we in second grade?" I mocked.

"Look, why else would I risk my life in coming here if I didn't think it was important?" He reasoned. "I may not have been anticipating wards around your school, but the same is the same."

"Excuse me for interrupting this conversation, but what the _hell_ is going on?" Abe's deeper voice cut in.

"Abe," I said, turning to him. "As you can see, I'm fine. I'm not hurt, nor will I be hurt. I don't know what you're doing out here in the first place, but you need to get back to-"

"I saw you coming out here," He cut me off, his voice softening. "I wanted to make you didn't get hurt."

For some reason, I felt guilty. "I know you want me to safe." I said. "But you can't protect me from things like this. It's my job. It's what I do, it's what mom does. Okay?"

After a moment he replied. "I am seven trees away. _Seven_," I watched him back into the trees, disappearing into the foliage.

"Ok, lets go," James didn't waist any time trying to grab my hand after he was gone. I jumped back.

"Tell me what's going on first. What's so important that you had to come here?" I said warningly. The crossed look in his eyes told me that he was conflicted, that he'd dug himself into a giant hole with two exits, but only able to take one. He shook his head in exasperation and threw his hands up in surrender.

"Fine! But we don't have a lot of time. Anna plans on making her move fast."

"Wait, Anna? What is she-?" I started, but he raised a hand to silence me.

"Anna did something Rose. It was totally unexpected and it's definitely turning the tables in the wrong direction." He stated. I opened my mouth to speak again but he continued. "Very bluntly, there's a cast called 'Death of Dead'. It can do one of two things: Kill a spirit, or control them. In this case, she happened to do both." His eyes bore into mine.

"Exactly what do you mean, both?" I asked after a moment.

"It's blunt, like I said. She killed a spirit, and she's controlling others."

"Yeah, but..." I hesitated. "What happens when you kill someone that's already dead?"

"It seizes to exist. No heaven, no hell, no afterlife period. It just...is gone." He made an exploding motion with his hands that I ignored.

"But nothing can just _not_ exist. You can't destroy energy. It has to go _somewhere_," I pointed out.

"Yeah. It becomes that tiniest of atoms that the most powerful eye couldn't see. It dissolves into molecules so small that you have no hope of putting the soul back together."

"James..." My voice cracked, hoarse. "What spirit did she...?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there." He didn't need to answer. I already knew. Mason hadn't talked to me in days. He kept trying to reach me with the messages. I couldn't see him. Just molecules.

Unable to expose my more opened side to him, I quickly shook it off as paranoia. I mean...Anna doesn't even know who Mason is. She couldn't have known... "And the other part. The controlling the dead spirits. What about them?" I asked.

"You've probably got your own theories about how Anna's going about creating her army, of course, because she took one of your own. She's making more. The majority of the people that died aren't here anyways. They left after Anna awoke." News to me. "My theory is that Anna is purposely controlling the spirits from the war to possess certain people, people with power, talent. The strong ones. If she can get enough then she'll have herself an army with a purpose."

What's been happening to everybody, I answered my own question in my mind. Lissa - she was taken over by extreme hunger, pain, wanting. She would do anything for blood. She didn't recognize me or Christan as friends...the puzzle came together. A Moroi must have possessed her on Anna's command because of her Spirit. The Moroi that had a hold on her hadn't had blood in over a century - it was hungry.

And Eddie. Well, I wasn't sure what was special about him. He was just a Dhampir. And my friend. Was it another one of Anna's games to get me to give in? Another 'If you join me I'll leave your loved ones alone' game?

And Avery. What was Avery in this?

I couldn't help the gasp that rose in my throat.

"What? Rose, are you okay?" James shook me from my blank state of fear and knowing.

"My friends. I haven't seen them in days! I'm sorry James, but I can't go with you," I turned around, about to run.

"Rose!" Abe's voice arose form the trees. "Guardians are coming!" Then I realized that my transmitter had been going crazy for minutes now. I hadn't answered the stress calls and now they probably think something happened to me.

"Oh god," I whispered. "You need to get out of here," I called to James. "They won't know you. They will kill you on the spot," I warned.

"I've been alive for a long time Rose. A few guardians are _not_ going to take me down." He replied. "And it doesn't matter anyways, we are _leaving_."

"But my friends could be-"

"I know Rose! Abe can check on them. We have to get out of here. Or else-"

"There is no way I am letting you go anywhere with him," Abe cut in. _Ah, the overprotective parent card_. I haven't seen that one before.

But James had a point. Getting to Anna meant saving my friends from whatever danger they were in. It meant saving Dimitri. I passed a sorry look to Abe and bit my lip, contemplating the worse that could happen if I _did_ leave with James. Maybe some bad air? Some worry?

"Abe, you have to cover for me! Please," I begged. His eyes widened.

"You can't be serious-" He started.

The radio - which was now somewhere buried within the leaves - buzzed. _Rosemarie. Are you alright? Please respond. _Alberta's voice was lined with worry. I even heard some of the guardians in the distance, and it didn't sound that far away.

"I'm sorry. Just make sure everybody's okay," And then I did the unexpected.

I grabbed James' hand and jumped the stone wall.

* * *

><p>"Where are we even going?" I asked once we were settled into a small car. A nice car at that. An old model of an A5 Audi. Leather seats at that. It made me miss my Ashton Martin.<p>

"There's a - a small airport about five miles from here," He said. "We're headed back to Malta, where Anna should be."

"And what are we planning to do once we get there?" I asked.

"I have the-"

But I didn't hear what he said. A black mob flashed in the side mirrors from the back seat.

"I'm sorry Rose," The voice was famine and not familiar, but it seemed to shock James as well. The car swerved when he noticed the presence as well.

I quickly shot forwards, ripping the seat beat from its holder. But I still wasn't fast enough. Before black chains veiled over my eyes, I saw the black hair again, shaded by grey eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Sigh...It's short...I know.<br>**

**ANYWAYS - *clears throat* - Hope you liked it and please REVIEW! :D The next chapter shall revolve promptly around AVERY and DIMITRI. And then some Eddie/Adrian bromance ;) And then, you know, death, sorrow, tragity, ending...stuff like that.  
><strong>

**-Elisabeth**


	26. Chained by Iron but Bound by Mortality

_A/N: I'm positively positive that this chapter is ten times better than the last one. Hear me out, please :) I had this chapter ready days ago, but FFn went emo on me and wouldn't let me log in to update. Sorry!  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>L<strong>_o_**v**e _i_s **a** g**a**_m_e i**s** f_o_r ev**er**y_on_e, b_**u**_t th_**i**_s i**s** you a**n**d _**m**_e. We had _a_ t**ho**us_an_d liv**e**s i**n** o_n_e_**,**_ we h_a_**d** _**h**_ur**ri**canes and s**u**n_s_. **Do**n't _**yo**_u kn_**o**_w, we'v**e** ju_s_t _b_**eg**un. - Tokio Hotel**, **_**H**_ur**ri**canes An**d** S**u**n_s_  
><em>

**Chained by Iron but Bound by Mortality**

_I walked into the cave hesitantly. It smelt like still water and asphalt, mold and moss. I didn't know what i was expecting when I curved past the opening. Whether it was Strigoi or unicorns I wasn't sure if either even existed anymore. My mind kept deceiving me. What if I'd been crazy my whole life? What if I was living in a fantasy world full of vampires and silver stakes when in reality I was stuck in a hospital somewhere else in the world, talking insanely to shrink, trying to make her understand that the world was endangered. What if I was human? Or maybe, I wasn't a human at all. What if this was like, the afterlife? What if I died sometime else and I ended up here?_

_Or...this was real and I was deceiving myself right now. Was I suppose to be insane or just feel like I'm insane? Was it part of some bigger plan?_

_Did Anna want me sane? Or was that the shrink?_

_I guess it didn't really matter as when I cornered the last turn in the dark cave, I came to face with Christian. Why was he...? What was he...?_

_His arms were held tightly around a person. A Strigoi. He was hugging the Strigoi, eyes closed and teared._

_No - wait. My eyes went to the Strigoi's mouth. It was slowly moving against Christian's neck, sucking. Holy crap._

_My legs shot forward into a run, but I was flung backwards, my head cracking thoroughly against the grey stone of the wall. My arms pulled forwards. I was suddenly being strained in two different directions. My arms captured out to my side, iron chains holding me in place; my legs were spread out as well glued in spot by a glimmering iron compact that was spreading on my feet._

_"Silly Rosie Posie," My eyes shot forward at the name Mason gave me. The Strigoi was talking to me. "This place is only for the living," And Christian's body slumped to the floor, unmoving. The Strigoi's lips twisted into a sick, sinister smile. I couldn't be sure if Christian was alive or not, but I looked at his chest for breathing. Nothing._

This place is only for the living.

_I felt myself burn to the core, like wax melting from a stick of dynamite. Anger consumed me. My vision turned white at the edges and the only thing holding me up was the iron chained to my wrists and ankles._

* * *

><p><strong>Avery<strong>: Fixable Break

_*earlier*_

The world swirled into colors and lights and music, reminding me of the time I visited the '_Musée National d'Art Moderne'_ museum in Paris.

Then, just beyond or underneath - I wasn't sure - I felt a wave, as if a lightning bolt had just missed me by an inch. My universe wobbled.

A ripple.

A tear.

A wound.

For just a second, my world was not in focus. I could see the vastness of infinity. Alternate universes. Alternate endings. Alternate outcomes. My earth was being unhinged and ripped from its platform. But then, everything stopped. My time had fixed itself. The world was no longer trembling. Everything was as it was.

Except for me.

Someone - something - was in me. It was devouring me. Eating me from the inside out. Telling me what to do and how to act. The empty hole in me was filled. But it was replaced with something no longer human, no longer sane - right, natural, true. I was no longer real - alive, controlling, dead. All the same.

Because if I wasn't dead, or alive, or real, or controlled...what was I?

Strigoi? Human? No... I was just an object, taking up space and time...until someone would rescue me.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose<strong>

_*later*_**  
><strong>

I woke up screaming.

I couldn't be positive if the past five minutes had been a dream or real, but there was no Christian in sight. My arms were still chained down, held to the wall with black iron. I groaned when the memories of earlier came back to me. I wasn't sure how long it had been since I left campus with James, but now I was alone in a dripping humid cave with no sanity left to hold onto.

The girl in the rear-view mirror though. I heard her voice before I blacked out. I saw her hair and eyes. But other then that I hadn't seen her face, which was a major factor in determining who she was. I could guess though. Black hair, grey eyes...I only knew one person like that. But Avery was different. She wasn't like Anna, or Adelina, or any of them.

She was nice, normal...well, kind of. She didn't play games though. She didn't like to cause trouble. She was confide and small, arrogant but truthful, understanding. No, I decided. She wouldn't...

But then who did?

The girl looked - sounded - just like her. There was no one else who knew about James anyways.

Where was he anyways?

I pulled myself up from the ground as well as I could with only my arms and leaned back against the wall of the cave. Just like the dream, the cave was dark and full of a musty smell that I'd rather not describe. Water was dripping from the ceiling, like condensation. Although it wasn't so dark that I couldn't see anything - especially since my Dhampir senses were heightened in times like this - but just dark enough to make me question my surroundings; where things were.

I felt footsteps as the ground vibrated. They were soft, silent, but totally natural. The person wasn't heavy, for sure.

"Hello?" My voice was dry and hoarse, cracking.

"Hello Rose," There was her voice again. I was over my limits. It was real. Avery was my culprit.

"Avery?"

A candle lit up the room. Avery was holding it burning bright. The light cast shadows on the walls making the stone dance and glimmer. Avery was wearing the same thing I last saw her in. A grey hoodie and jeans, except now the pants were torn at the knees and her raven hair was sprawled in every direction. It looked teased and messy, worse than bed-head. Dark circles framed her eyes, and not just from the heavy eyeliner.

"Help me! Get me out of here!" I cried out when I realized for sure that it was her.

"I can't, sorry."

"What do you mean, you _can't_? Of course you can!" I said.

"No Rose. I mean I really _can't_. I'm bound to her," She said, getting louder.

"Bound to her?" I whispered after a moment of contemplation. "What does that mean?"

"I must do what she tells to me to. I don't have contr-" She didn't finish. Her body lashed out, falling to the ground. My heart jumped in surprise from the sudden movement. A yelp escaped her lips as she tumbled to the floor. I gasped when a few moments of pure silence turned into a slight humming. The sound of silence. A minute later her body groaned and twisted around, pulling herself just an inch from the ground, but enough to look at me. A sick smile fell onto her lips.

Oh god, the way she looked at me right now...

I was so scared.

"Mm', Rosie Posie..." She practically howled in laughter. A hyena laugh. "I feel so good! It's been too long since I've had a body to fill,"

"A body to..." I trailed off, confused. But when I looked into her eyes, I didn't see Avery, and I didn't see some evil possessive demon spirit...I saw myself, deep brown eyes. I saw my memories and pain and grief. It hit me to suddenly. I didn't have time to process. "Adelina!" I cried out. This was Adelina. But Adelina wasn't crazy. I mean, sure she wanted a war, but for good reason at least. She had a reason, avenging her friends, not herself. That's why I felt a connection to her way before I knew who she really was. She was just like me. She didn't want to protect herself. She wanted to protect her friends - Will, Amanda.

But then I remembered what James had said about Anna using a spell to control the spirits. This was Adelina, but only part of her. Anna was telling her what she thought she wanted, not what she really wanted.

I sighed in relief, but it didn't make the fear subside.

* * *

><p><strong>Lissa<strong>

Something...something...

Darkness, but like the end of a tunnel, I could see light. Well, no. Not exactly light, but just a happy, warm feeling. A feeling that was familiar and comforting, like home. I knew it like the back of my hand. I've always known it was there before, I just couldn't reach it. In the back of my mind this was the anchor holding me to sanity, real life. This was the feeling that I had been missing when I was falling down that down of hunger. The hunger was blocking this emotion. It felt strange and _that_ was the _actual_ _hole _that I had been falling down. The hole was empty, but now it was closer to being filled.

At the end of the tunnel like darkness, I felt the light again. Except this time it was clouded over, sheered, with grey.

But through it I held out a metaphysical finger and coated my fingers in the light. This light rushed into me a thousand miles a second and suddenly the hole was gone. The feeling that I'd had my entire life was finally back and there was no more hunger.

This was the bond.

My mind reached into itself, searching for something that had always been there. The grasp that Rose had always been talking about when she told me about going into my head; having something to hold onto in my mind to stay planted there. Something in me automatically knew how to hold onto the handle.

That something turned the knob and opened the door.

* * *

><p><strong>I lied about the Dimitri part. Sorry :\ He and Adrian get the next chapter along with Rose and Lissa having their 'bonding time'.<br>**

**Here's a sneak peak for the last chapter, which is - I think - two chapters away :)**

_"With sparks of fire falling from the darkened sky, a new feeling – never felt before – filled my chest. It was hopeful, and gentle, and pressing, but all in the same needy and wanting..."_

**Yup. Review please!**

-Elisabeth


	27. Eyes Under Lock And Key

**Eyes Under Lock And Key  
><strong>

_Eddie_

Just like the movies, his eyes peaked opened and a bright florescent light filled his sight, spreading like the sun on the horizon.

He was released from the infirmary an hour later after a few tests of finding nothing physically wrong with him. He tracked through the halls of the center and stopped confused when he saw Lissa's name on a door in the A wing. He looked around to make sure nobody was around and quietly pushed the door opened exposing himself to the frail blond laying on the bed.

She was way paler than usual, white actually. Her hair was tasseled and her eyes were closed, but visible blue bags lined them.

"Lis?" He inquired, almost whispering wanting to see if she was awake. What happened to her?

She rolled and moaned, but didn't respond.

"Mr. Castile? Shouldn't you be in the dinning hall?" Dr. Olenski appeared behind him with her usual glasses and clipboard.

"Uh, yea. But..." He trailed off, not know what exactly to say. He looked back at Lissa.

"Your friend..." Dr. Olenski said, looking at her. "Well, she got into some trouble,"

"What kind of trouble?"

"Ask Rose. I'm sure she knows more than I do," She said. "Or Lord Ozera. He was with the both of them when the occurrence...well, occurred." She encouraged.

"Is she going to be Ok?" He asked after another moment passed.

"She should be. Nothing is positive right now though," After touching her forehead he left the room in hopes of finding Christan.

* * *

><p>Finding Christan was a lot easier than he thought it would be. They ran into each other almost the second he left the infirmary. Christian looked liked he had slept in weeks. His black hair was disheveled around his face and dark circles were residing under his eyes. And the shine, the sarcasm, that was usually sheen over his irises were gone. The blue was just that - blue. Not anything special anymore. No brightness.<p>

"What happened to you?" Eddie asked asked after they recovered from bumping foreheads.

"What happened to _you?_" Christian repeated contradictorily. "You passed out earlier."

Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but instead closed it and creased his eyebrows. "I'm not sure," He replied after a moment. "I remember walking down the hall, and then...it felt like something was pulling me to the ground, like some unseen force of gravity. I remember hitting the floor and that's when I must of blacked out."

Christian considered this for a minute and then nodded slowly. "I came here to see Lissa. Have you seen her yet?"

"Yea," Eddie nodded. "A few minutes ago. She didn't look anything like the Lissa I know. She was totally deranged."

"Was she awake?" Eddie shook his head.

"What happened to her anyways?"

"Do you remember the stuff Rose told you, about the ghosts wanting to get revenge and stuff?" Eddie nodded. "Well, I think their leader, whoever she is, is trying to get followers or something. Don't look at me like that," Eddie raised an eyebrow. "I've only got going what Rose told me." A student shoved past the two of them and into the infirmary.

"Rude," Christian said, rubbing his elbow. "Anyways, I think that Lis was possessed by something."

"Possessed?"

"I guess, by some Moroi that wanted revenge or something. If a Moroi hadn't eaten in a few centuries, which is very unlikely anyways because we aren't immortal, I sure that they would try to get their hands on any type of blood even if it was Moroi blood." Eddie sighed deeply, processing what he'd just been told.

Then he remembered something. "How long has it been since you've seen Adrian?" He asked casually.

"A few days, why?" But realization was plain over his face.

"Look, you go check on Lissa, and I'll find Adrian, Ok?"

Christian nodded and left him.

Walking to the guest dorms, Eddie tried to piece together the information he had.

If Anna was trying to recruit members to her team, then why take the living? Why not the dead? And was her plan to take only Moroi? No, that didn't make any since. He remembered Rose telling him about the possession. If she was trying to take Rose who's to say she won't take other Dhampirs? And that girl that died in Rose's room. Was that part of this?

He remembered that feeling of confliction in his gut when he was unconscious. He would have never attempted to even go to the dark if he was in his right mind, which led him to believe that something bigger than him and Rose was going on here.

The alarms were still going, harsh red lights glowing back and forth on the dorm buildings. The volume had gone down, or maybe he'd just gotten used to them, but he was positive that Strigoi weren't the ones that had broken through the wards.

He skipped past the guardians on the walls, hoping to not be seen. He was almost sure that if they saw him they would take him back to his dorm for his safety. If they were finding no Strigoi after the few hours that it had been, they most likely wouldn't find any of them. It could have just been a breach, like when Jesse and his friends broke the wards with a Silver Stake before.

He walked quietly down the narrow hall, hands in his coat pocket. He found the door with the brass plate that read _Ivashkov_. It didn't look right through. The brass was peeled off in some parts, rusted in others. Adrian liked everything he owned to be shiny and new, even a name plate. The other suspicious thing was that the door knob was literally _sticky_ with finger prints. So much that it didn't look brass anymore, but a yellowish white with the amount of hand prints seen on the handle.

And the door itself was opened just a crack. And hanging on the bottom hinge.

He felt himself worry, a sick feeling in his chest bubbling up. He knew that something was wrong with Adrian when he hadn't seen him in days. What if he opened this door and found him dead, like Rose had with the murdered girl. What if he was nailed to the wall. No head, no hands. Every horror movie he'd ever watched came back to him. When the suspect would open the door, hoping to find something to defend his or her innocence, they expected the worst, but in reality only found out that it was their friend, or a family member.

With that in mind, he pushed opened the door and took a step inside.

It looked like hell had frozen over in the room.

The pale green walls had holes punched into them, sofas were turned over, the glass coffee table was shattered on the ground. Bottles littered the carpet. A dark substance was stained, spotted, and slashed into the previously white carpet. It didn't look like blood, smell like blood, thank god, but what else could it be?

It could be chocolate, he thought in his naive virgin mind. Or demonic compounds. He grimaced at the sight.

"Adrian?" He called out through the mess. He walked forward, avoiding the glass and sticky looking liquid. He approached the kitchen slowly, pushing opened the ranch-like doors. Alcohol dripped from the granite counters and glass crunched under his feet. He fell into a shock when he saw the sight in front of him. God, he knew something had been wrong.

Adrian was thrashing around on the tile floor. Gasping and panting, as if trying to find oxygen. The fact that no blood could be seen was a relief to Eddie, but his chest still tightened.

He rushed forwards, kneeling at Adrian's side, pressing his hands down on his chest trying to hold him still. "Adrian. Hey, calm down," He called, trying to get his attention. Suddenly Adrian was no longer on the ground, but standing in the corner of the room behind a small refrigerator grasping at his throat, mouth opened. And then he was pounding against the wall, creating yet another hole. And again so fast he was back on the ground. His knees under him and his forehead slamming against the tile.

Eddie couldn't react fast enough to the sudden movements and gasped when Adrian tried to speak.

"Get-" He choked on his own words and made a gagging notion, like he was going throw up. "Out,"

"No," Eddie said. He felt sweat gather at his forehead. It must have been a hundred degrees in this room. "What's happening to you?" He managed to get out.

Then Adrian was on his feet again, gripping the counter top. It shattered in his hands like the glass.

"Something-" Adrian cut off, staggering backwards and hitting the counter a few feet behind him. "In me," He noticed his grammar and tried to repeat for better understanding. But oh the pain. "Something is _in _me!" Adrian cried out and collapsed once again to his knees.

Eddie pulled himself together and stood, placing a hand on Adrian's shoulder. Adrian shuddered and seized up, holding his arms around his chest. "What do you mean?" But Eddie knew exactly what Adrian meant.

"Don't let him get me." Adrian heaved. "He's pushing...God, pushing..." He rolled over, hitting the floor onto off Eddie's feet.

"Come on," Eddie bent over, hoping to get a hold on the Moroi. But then Adrian was rolling...over the edge. His eyes suddenly clenched and he screamed.

He subsided into the pain, but held on. He wasn't going to let someone take his own self.

Eddie took advantage of this moment of peace and roped his arms behind Adrian's back and knees, picking him up. For one moment it was calm. No thrashing or screaming. Eddie carried him to the only room that hadn't been ripped apart. The bedroom. It was smaller then Eddie thought it might be. It only had a small wood dresser, a desk, and a double bed with canary colored sheets. The window was closed.

Eddie sat him down on the bed to find that Adrian had passed out. But he wasn't breathing.

Panic overcame him and his fingers went straight to his throat, right under his chin to find a pulse. It was there...barely.

What was happening to him? Was this what Lissa had gone through when she was possessed? Or Rose? Had they been completely out of control too?

And me, Eddie thought. What was happening to me?

Adrian stirred just when Eddie's hand went to his phone, about to call a guardian.

"Fuck." He heard Adrian swear under his breath. Eddie released the breath he'd been holding and put down his phone.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked hesitantly. Adrian's hands went to his temples and gripped his head.

"My head hurts like hell. Am I hungover?" He groaned.

"I don't think so, not with the amount of vodka wasted around the flat,"

"What happened to me?" Adrian asked.

"I'm not sure," Eddie sat on the edge of the bed and held his hands together. "I came to check on you. Your living room was a wreck. I found you in the kitchen. It looked like you were having some sort of seizure," Adrian looked up at the ceiling. He looked confused.

"I couldn't drink," He said.

"Huh?"

"I couldn't drink anything. Every time I tried to drink the vodka, something inside of me would just...compel the bottle away. Something would take over me and break the bottle. That's where all the alcohol came from." He explained. "Then...it felt like I had no control anymore. I got really angry really fast. I just remember wanting to hurt people. I wanted to hurt Rose," Eddie could see the shame in his eyes.

"It wasn't you. It was...some...spirit or something. You know everything happening with Rose, right?" Adrian nodded.

Eddie heard the alarms from the halls shut off. Adrian must have heard too because he leaned up on his elbows immediately, eyebrows raised.

"Wait, were those the Strigoi alarms?"

"Uh, yeah."

"How long have they been running?"

"A few hours. They must have either fixed the wards or found the Strigoi."

And then the intercom which was rarely used came on. _"Rosemarie Hathaway, please report to the headmistress' office at once. Thank you_,"

"You think she's in trouble?"

"When isn't she?" Adrian smirked.

"You would do anything for her, wouldn't you?" Eddie couldn't help but be curious about their relationship. He'd never liked Rose as more then a friend, but with the consist teasing and sarcasm between the two he always thought there was something more.

"I took her to Italy just to see a dead person, didn't I?" For the first time Adrian looked over at him, his jade eyes meeting hazels ones. He was smiling.

"Do you love her? For real?" Eddie didn't smile back. That made Adrian's flicker.

"Always have. But she's with Belikov." He went back to looking at the ceiling. "I don't stand a chance." Eddie was about to reply but was cut off by the intercom once again, repeating the same message as before only stricter and threatening detention for a week if she come.

"Let's go. This place is depressing," Adrian inquired. He made an effort to stand without wincing, but failed. His face contorted in pain. With his feet on the ground and leaning over the bed, Adrian grimaced, trying to ignore the ache in his back. Eddie on the other hand gaped at it wondering why he hadn't realized it was there before.

Adrian had been rolling around in glass. It was no wonder by blood was soaking his shirt.

"Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Eddie asked. He didn't really want to be there again for the second time in a day, but if it was needed.

"No. They'll ask questions. Can you just help me?" Eddie wasn't sure what he meant, but when Adrian made a move to reach for the bottom of his torn white shirt he understood. Eddie walked around slowly to the other side of the bed where Adrian was. He bit his lip and grabbed the hem, pulling it up. Adrian groaned when the fabric brushed his wounds.

A good amount of blood was running down his skin and Eddie left the room to return with a medium sized towel.

After a few minutes he'd cleaned up the majority of the blood and was left with scratch marks. The skin was torn in multiple places.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?" But he never got an answer. Adrian's arm whipped backwards of the blue and slammed him hard against the wall behind them. Before he felt fangs pierce into his neck he saw Adrian's eyes. There was no iris, no burning jade. No pupil. Just white.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose<strong> **POV**

Someone was knocking on a door. I looked around the cave. There were no doors.

I heard the knocking again. "What is that?" I asked to no one. Avery's - Adelina's - head snapped to me from my sudden speech.

"There is nothing here but you and me, I assure you." Her voice was cold, hard.

But the knocking didn't stop. It just got louder.

Then I realized that the sound wasn't real. It was mental. I was hearing the sound in the back of my conscious somewhere. Someone was in my head. Someone wanted to open the door to my thoughts and there was only one person with the ability at all to do that.

I reached out to Lissa, the small pulsing life form that always resided in my soul. I guess it was like a door. I opened it every time I wanted to see through her head. And every time she wanted to she couldn't because the door was locked from the outside. I'd never unlocked the door. With my key in my hands - not literally - I slid it into the handle.

It unlocked with a click. And suddenly the door was opening. I could feel every part of Lissa's mind that I've never accessed before because of her lock. Every thought, emotion, and rush that I'd never felt hit me like ice water. All the things that she went through alone.

And Lissa. I was feeling Lissa feeling me. She was flooded with my memories and pains and reliefs. My thoughts and feelings and fantasies. It was a whole new world that I'd never discovered before. I guess being me and Lissa was like being twins. I'd heard that twins had the ability to share the same thoughts and dreams. I couldn't imagine living without Lissa. Without that pulse in my soul.

And now I was sure she felt the same way. I was looking through her mind and she was looking through mine.

_Rose? Oh my god! This is amazing!_

_And to think all I had to do was unlock myself. We could've been doing this ages ago!_ I replied through my mind.

_Where are you? Is that a cave?_

_I'm in a cave, sure. But I have no idea where I am. _Suddenly my mind filled with ideas. Avery was looking at me curiously, noticing my hazing eyes. I was seeing half the cave and half darkness - which is why I assumed Lissa was still unconscious.

_Lissa, do you know what happened to you? Back at the church?_

_What church?_

_You don't remember at all?_

_I remember passing out. And talking to Mia on the phone. But everything between that is kind of hazy._

_Lissa. I need you to wake up. I know it might be hard, but until you can get help I can't tell you what happened. Or what's happening.  
><em>

_Am I asleep?_

_No. I punched you and when you hit the floor you blacked out._

_You punched me? Why?_

_Well... it's a complex situation. But please Lissa. I need you to wake up. I'll help you push the spirit away that's inside of you but you need to wake up!_

I woke up. My mind was wrenched from her half of the conversation. A sharp pain vibrated through me as my head hit the stone wall.

"Roza. Did I tell you that you could leave?"

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know why but this chapter was so much easier to write than the others.<br>**

**The next chapter is the last one and since It's already written I'll upload it when I get a few reviews for this chapter. Thanks guys!**

**-Elisa  
><strong>


	28. Hallow Ends

**Hallow Ends  
><strong>

_This is the way the world ends.  
>This is the way the world ends.<br>This is the way the world ends._

* * *

><p>I'd never been hit so hard. No Strigoi compared to my head being split opened against stone.<p>

Nothing made sense.

Words just echoed in my head. My vision was unclear and incoherent; all I could see was black and grey and white all over. My brain was pulsing back and forth, tick and tock, as if blood was moving from side to side, wall to wall, bone to bone. It created a rush, a high, to fall over me like I wasn't even there. I was swimming...sinking...

The only thing that was clear, sure of, was the voice. It was loud and pounding, although that may of been my head - laced with a faintly faded Russian accent.

I tried to make sense of what he was saying, trying to look like I was paying attention, but I'm pretty sure the outcome was what I looked like in Stan's class during a lesson: eyes barely opened and drool running down the sides of the mouth.

He kept talking though. I wasn't sure if he was turned to me or at Avery since I couldn't see anything. The little rainbow colored dots kept dancing in front of my eyes swirling around like they owned me. Like I wasn't giving them something. Like they wanted me. As if they were alive.

But slowly they washed away, draining from my sight within a few minutes. Things became clearer and my feelings became more coherent. I could feel the dried blood sticking to my forehead, and the newer blood running slightly down the back of my neck. I felt the bone of my skull scream with pain as oxygen revealed itself to the inside of my head - literally. The world seized to be but all in the same was spinning in front of me.

My ears hinged in place as well. Sounds came back to me replacing the eerie hum of silence.

His voice.

"And poor, poor Roza. Now you have no where left to run." I had a feeling that I'd missed his entire speech.

"Dimitri?" I managed to croak. I pulled myself up onto my elbows only able to go so far attached to the iron, which now that I looked close enough had thin stems of ivy linked through the chains.

"Wrong," He answered swiftly, and if I wasn't so out of it I would have thought he was smirking.

I swore under my breath when the earlier hours of the day came back to me. Seeing James, being kidnapped, talking to Lissa through the bond, Avery's possession. It wouldn't surprise me if that had been what was happening to Eddie and the others. And now, Dimitri was no longer Dimitri. He was the one who had pretended to be a Strigoi - if he hadn't been faking in his possessed state -, the one who I'd seen in the mirror, who I saw on the dance floor. This was who was possessing him. The question was, if it hadn't been James like I thought - since James was hypothetically alive anyways, and you can't posses someone if you aren't dead - then who was it?

The dots began to dissolve and disappear into oblivion.

And my eyes met Dimitri's.

They were stark green, greener than Adrian's. The color contrasted greatly with his hair and toned skin, making it look like he was so much more than just a Dhampir, which was exactly the case. Right now he was a Moroi in a Dhampir's body, just like Lissa and Eddie and the rest of them.

I tried to figure out who had green eyes. What ghost have I met that had green eyes. I don't think-

Or have I?

Adelina once told me that Will - her Spirit welding bond mate - had brought her back to life when James stabbed her, but the process failed, that he couldn't completely cross her back over and that made her a ghost, able to stay here instead of the Otherworld. And he had green eyes.

But if he was a good guy, if he helped Adelina, then why would he be trying to hurt me and her now? I mean, Adelina was inside Avery. The two friends would have been reunited. He should have been happy.

No. I crossed him off the list.

"You see, Roza. I've lived for you. Literally. I've felt your fears and memories - kind of like your bond mate. I know who you are."

Lived for me? What did that even mean? He was now leaning down in front of me, staring at my face curiously. "Don't you remember not remembering?" He asked. More chills lined up through my spine.

_Don't you remember not remembering?_

The possession. I remembered everything I'd missed. I remembered the pain and sinful torture of him in my mind and body. Oh god.

This was Mikael. The same Mikael that Anna had warned me about - the leader of ghosts that wanted me to lead them. He must have seen the realization on my face because his smile grew even larger and his face drew nearer to mine. I could feel his breath on my cheeks and even though it was still Dimitri's lips blowing it I had to remember that this wasn't Dimitri.

"Bastard," I spit once I found my voice.

He ignored my insult though. "I'm glad you remember."

And then, Avery appeared back into the stone room through a small hole in the corner of the cave.

"The daywalker is awake," She said with a controlling voice. His attention snapped to her.

"Bring him here," A few moments later she reappeared through the hole which James in her arms.

And it looked like that the dead had beat the undead.

His hair was deflated and tangled and his eyeliner and glitter was smeared below and across his face. With contacts no longer in his eyes, the red gleamed against the dark rock. Blood was stringed into his eyelashes very visibly as if someone had tried to pull them out. His clothes were tethered and torn and coal black dirt scratched his arms and legs.

It looked like hell had finally claimed him.

* * *

><p>"Why do they want us?" I asked a few minutes after they left me and James chained back to the wall.<p>

"It's what they want with you actually. I just happened to be in the way when they went after you," He said grimacing. He was silent.

"Does it hurt? Seeing her again?" He sighed and looked in my direction from the other side of the cave. He looked reluctant to answer.

"That's not her. The old Adelina that I fell in love with was different. She wasn't power crazed, or out for revenge. She just wanted a happy normal life that she'll now never have because of Anna." He answered. "So no. It doesn't hurt. And as for what they want, well, I'm guessing Anna's around here somewhere. I'm guessing they decided that it's time to start fighting. They've given up on you turning by choice, so now they'll probably attack your mind all at once and take over. But since now they have other bodies to control I'm not sure they want you anymore."

"God..." I swore under my breath. "There as to be a way to destroy them! To stop this!" I shouted in frustration.

"Oh. There is," All time froze. My body seized in sudden anger at his words.

"Do you mean," I hissed through my teeth. "That all this time there has been a way to kill Anna. And you_ never told me_?" I exclaimed.

"That's why I came to get you away from the academy!" He said firmly.

"Well...are you going to tell me?" I inquired after a moment.

"I would, but there's no point now. It's over. If not everybody, the majority of the students at Vladimir's has probably already been possessed."

"And what are they planning to do with the bodies?"

"Simple. Kill the guardians. That was the plan all along, they're just now going about it in a different fashion."

He confirmed what I already knew. "Just tell me how,"

He sighed in frustration. "Do you remember the bloodstone you got from Vladimir's grave? Well, the whole point you could use it to talk to Vladimir himself was because it was connected to him, to his death. To the other side. When it was destroyed in that fire, so was Vladimir, because they were bound together, him and the bloodstone, get it?"

Then I realized that he didn't know that the bloodstone hadn't been destroyed, but only broken. I opened my mouth to intervene, but he stopped me by speaking first.

"The same would apply to the other ghosts. If you bound them to a bloodstone and then destroyed it, it would destroy them as well."

"So why did you want to leave campus exactly?"

"Because we needed to get more bloodstone. We don't have the other one anymore-"

"Actually," I interrupted. "We still have it. It's not in one piece but it was never fully destroyed." I explained. His eyes widened.

"Where is it?"

My mood dropped even more. "The academy,"

* * *

><p><strong>Avery POV<br>**

I knew everything I was saying and doing and hearing, but I couldn't control any of it. I regretted everything that was happening to Rose and the daywalker Strigoi. It felt like I was the one causing them pain and hurt, but I couldn't do anything about it because it was no longer my body to own, to move.

But the connection to me and the spirit was the same. I could see her thoughts too, her past. I saw her old life as a human, her connection to Vasilisa...but it was one thing that attracted me to her past the most. Her death.

Her old friend, the Shadow Kissed one, the boy, he had tried to bring her back to life when she was stabbed by the daywalker. But he hadn't succeeded and she'd only been brought back half way. Her soul had been brought back, but not her body. This connection to her was uncanny to my situation.

And I put it all together.

When I was in the car crash with my parent, a spirit user must have found us and tried to heal me. But he or she didn't succeed and and it resulted in only bring back half of my soul. It brought back my body but not my soul. And now, when I died I would be reunited with my soul in hell. Because that must be where I was going.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

An hour later, we had an honest to god plan. A real one with a real outcome. The only way it wouldn't work would be if Lissa was too much of a wimp to come through for us.

* * *

><p><strong>Lissa's POV<strong>

My head burned from the pills that Dr. Olenski had provided me with. My magic was gone, but the pull was there. But I needed to get through for Rose. I needed to ignore my own selfish needs for one minute and help her. We'd been talking through the bond for almost an hour now, trying to find a solution for the problem.

The guardians refused to help. They were still reeling from the fake Strigoi attack and Rose missing. I couldn't find any of our friends so they were out of the picture.

_Gosh, Rose. You seriously need to clean your room!_ I pulled open yet another drawer and tossed the clothes to the floor, searching for any sign of what might be the bloodstone.

"Hey, Lis?" I heard Christian call from the bathroom.

I tossed the remaining clothes back into the dresser and carried myself to the bathroom door where Christian was staring oddly at a small golden brown jewelry box sitting on the counter top.

"What's in there?" I asked curiously, swinging carelessly from the door frame and into the titled room.

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's what we're looking for."

Taking one last glace at him, I slowly slid my fingers around the cress of the lid, stopping at the lock, where I lifted the silver. It clicked without a noise. The lid was light and raised easily. Inside it was a dark mahogany wood carved deeply with ivy designs. And sitting on the floor of the box was a necklace. It was the rose chain that Uncle Victor had given her for taking me safely to Massoula and back.

And next to it was a pile of small green gemstones. The pieces of the bloodstone. I sucked in a breath reached inside curling my fist around the jagged chucks, scraping my hand in the process.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>(I just finished writing this and realized that I somehow switched from Lissa's point of view to third person. Don't ask me how that happened...)<strong>

The door handle was boiling. The lock inside was melting. The copper burned a bright red as it started loosing it's form and sinking inwards. Christian stared at it harshly, eyes squinted, watching it burn. Lissa, next to him, was swinging her head back and forth abrasive watching out for incoming guardians or professors.

"Hurry up!" She hissed under her breath.

"I'm trying!" They stood in front of Mrs. Carmack's private room in teacher housing, trying to break in, and the quickest way they could figure to find a way in was to burn the knob, since neither of them knew how to pick a lock.

And finally the door swung loose, falling from the hinge. That hadn't exactly been the plan - burning the whole thing off the wall - but if it worked...

Christian pushed the door aside. Once he and Lissa were in he securely, well, as well as he could, fit the door back into place.

The room looked completely different from the student dorms. The bed was a double for one, and was covered in a canary colored comforter. Because it was pushing against the wall instead of in the center of the room, a large body pillow filled a good part of it. The walls were each painted a different colored: purple, red, yellow, and orange, completely contradicting the the white carpet and black tiles on the baseboards and spread carelessly along the edges of the ceiling.

And in the corner was a huge floor to roof bookshelf built _into_ the red wall. Ancient looking texts lined the many shelves, most dusty brown or rusting black. They weren't just any books. They were magic books, containing the oldest of magics going back to the beginning of Lilith.

"That's probably our best bet," Christian said behind her, taking in the room.

Despite the pills, Lissa could tell he was right. She could feel the magic pull to the books. They wanted her to look at them.

She ran her finger over the bindings on the top shelf, her Moroi height finally coming into advantage. She wasn't sure which volume they were looking for. Rose hadn't specified so she assumed that she hadn't known. All she had was to go on was her gut instinct. But she knew it had to be older than the rest and preferably contained dark magic. Or darker than usual.

"What are we looking for?" Christian asked coming up next to her. She grabbed a random book and shoved it into his chest.

"You're looking for a binding spell. And I suggest you skim fast because I have no idea when Mrs. Carmack is going to be back."

* * *

><p>They were still in luck an hour later. Half the books had been thrown across the room and while they'd covered a lot they still hadn't come across the right combination of spells.<p>

"There is _so_ much in these," Lissa admired enthralled in the magic and fantasy.

"Lissa, we're here to help Rose, not learn the forces of nature. You know that," True, she'd only hit half the books Christian had because she was reading them in more detailing instead of just scratching the titles. But she couldn't help it. It was in her nature to be curious about things she couldn't have.

"I know, I know. I want to know everything. Those cults and hidden covens are right. If we could just use this magic, our magic, to fight with the guardians we'd be twice and strong and more durable."

"Lissa." Christian looked up from his book sharply. "We can talk about this later."

"But-"

"No, Lis."

"But I found it!" Lissa hopped onto her knees from the bed holding the book in the palm of her hand, using her other fingers to read the lines on the paper. "It says right here: _Infernal Bonding - The process of binding a soulless creature of the undead to any blessed object upon choosing._" She read directly from the creased crumpled yellow pages excitedly.

They'd found their weapon.

* * *

><p>Underneath the janitor's basement below the cafeteria was a cellar used to store old textbooks and new chemistry chemicals and such on. But now, the books and solutions had been pushed to the side of the cement walls and Christian was locking the wrought iron gate-like door that held them inside. They couldn't be Lissa was following the exact instructions in the grimmour, drawing a thick line with salt.<p>

She was no where near a witch, but her spirit should be enough to channel the energy needed to cast the binding spell.

"Now what?"

Lissa didn't respond, but stepped inside the circle before closing it with the remaining salt. "Now I contact Rose."

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

Me and James sat waiting in silence for what had to have been a few hours before we got a response.

_We got the book and the bloodstone. The spell is ready to cast but I kind of have nothing to cast it on..._ Lissa's voice echoed through my head without warning startling me from my thoughts.

I filled James in on the progress and couldn't help but feel the adrenaline shoot through me. It was finally time for the end.

_Now,_ I thought carefully choosing my words, _you do exactly what the spell says, no matter what it is, and transmit it through me. I'll do the rest._

And suddenly, I felt heat and energy flowing into me, lighting me up and smoking me out. My skin burned and tingled and the ground shook beneath me.

James was staring at me curiously.

Though not for long, because only a second later the changes around my wrists and ankles melted, burning so hot and fast. My skin smouldered with ash and smoke as steam erupted from the stone walls around us. Lissa's words filed into me. _Tenebris Celso Tkhe nuntius ut sunt de-Tempus, knov tuam Enem officium Tkhe Instituti corpus cogitari Andes. SOLUM Chang Tkhe iura officium est Mens Tkhe tenebris. Dissimilis Tkhe realis natura-de-facto blatskness sanguinario. Revenga super eget, Luxuria, Monya Andes chang ... nos sunt. Caecus nos sunt. Unvake nobis. Chang irrumabo INTE Tkhe propositum tenens officium Tkhe University._

And the cave exploded.

* * *

><p>When I woke, I was laying on soft grass in the middle of a huge field. The only thing in sight was green grass, fields and fields of it. And of course, the burning rock and stone behind me. The cave had collapsed and I had been blown from it. Now it was just a heap of dirt and rock with flames licking the sides. That spell was more powerful than I thought.<p>

I looked around for James but found nothing. No Dimitri or Avery either.

The sun was setting against the horizon and I could tell we only had a few minutes of daylight left.

_Lissa?_ After a few minutes I gave up on getting a response. I had no idea how the spell would have effected her but I could only hope that she was okay. And where did that leave me? Was the spell finished? Did something else need to happen? Was I lost? Had I lost? I answered my own question when a girl appeared in front of me.

She was no older than twelve. Black hair hung loosely to her hips and starking blue eyes stared back at me. Child Anna. Black flames were circling her in a fiery dance.

On the ground in front of her the grass was gone and humid brown dirt covered the small pieces of bloodstone.

That's when I realized that destroying this would also destroy Vladimir, like James had said. But I didn't have a choice. It was me or her.

Lissa's spell came back to me.

"Please Rose! Let me out of here! Don't let me die!" Her whines were childlike in her state and more high pitched. It was so sad but I couldn't let myself look at her face in fear of giving in.

The bloodstone began to glow and smoke, like the rock behind us.

"I'm so sorry Anna. But this needs to be done," I said. My last words to her. And then I closed my eyes and Lissa's subconscious sent me the remaining words of the incantation.

"_Fieri." _The black flames engulfed her body and she shrieked out in pain. Her arms flew out in the airs and her head flung backwards.

And then she was gone. The blank spot in the grass was there and the bloodstone was sending sparks of fire in every direction, lighting the darkened sky like fireworks. And an explosion occurred again. I was pushed up from the ground and flung at least a dozen meters from where I had been.

I landed from the blow a second later with my hands and knees buried into wet dirt and grass. I could feel blood seeping painfully from my palms. My head lifted from the ground and peaked through my hair, seeing Dimitri's face on the other side of the field. He unconscious but breathing. He was free from the souls.

And Lissa, and Eddie, and Adrian, and Avery… God, relief washed over me. I had finally killed her and sent her soul to the Otherworld. The spirits were retreating, weakened without a leader, free to live – or…do whatever ghosts did – their own lives without a force compelling them. Everyone was in peace.

With sparks of fire falling from the darkened sky, a new feeling – never felt before – filled my chest. It was hopeful, and gentle, and pressing, but all in the same needy and wanting…

Victory.

Because the battle was over. Nightfall had come.

* * *

><p><em>Not with a bang, but a whimper.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Kind of Anticlimactic, huh? Well, if you've read my other stories then you know I suck at beginnings and endings, but whatever...<br>**

**LotD is finally complete! Thanks for all those who reviewed and helped! I've come to the conclusion that there will be NO epilogue or sequel. I'm kind of tired of writing VA fan fiction for now. I might pick back up on it soon, but for now, no.  
><strong>

**And now that I've gone back and read the first 15 chapters or so I've realized that throughout the entire story my timing has been way off. I mean, half the chapter it's day time and then four minutes later it's the middle of the night - like chapter 12 for example. So I apologize profoundly for any confusion.**

xxElisabeth


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